A proposal to almost halve the budget of a Hot Springs library will most likely not appear on the ballot for voters in November.
The measure was thrown out by the county judge Friday; it would have decreased the millage the library receives from 1.6 mill to 1 mill. According to state law, the proposal needed signatures from 100 taxpayers to be validated.
Garland County resident George Pritchett is part of a group called the Garland County Tax Alliance. He put forward the measure believing it would ease the tax burden for residents in the county. Pritchett submitted 131 signatures on August 2, and nine more on September 3.
Garland County Judge Darryl Mahoney tossed the signatures in an order Friday, saying the proposal violated Amendment 38. This is the section of the Arkansas Constitution pertaining to library taxes. The law says all 100 signatures must be from taxpayers; Pritchett did not specify in his proposal that all signatories were taxpayers in the county.
The Garland County Library is funded through a 1.6 property tax millage. Library Director Adam Webb estimates this amounts to $34.80 per person per year. He also estimated over 90% of the library's budget comes from the tax. The proposal would have cut this down to 1 mill, which Webb estimates would amount to a 40% decrease.
Initially, Pritchett put forward a proposal to cut the library tax completely, ultimately changing course and putting forward the partial millage cut.
The proposal came amid escalating tensions over library funding across the state. A proposal to cut library funding in Craighead County passed by a narrow margin, forcing the library to lay off staff. Meanwhile, residents of Saline County fired their library director when she refused to remove books containing LGBTQ+ characters to a restricted section.
Pritchett says his proposal has nothing to do with the content of books found in the Garland County Library and more to do with his general belief that there are more taxes than a revenue stream to support them.
“We're a watchdog group,” he said of the Garland County Tax Alliance. “We look at the city, we look at the county and we ask: ‘why?’”
The Garland County Library has not seen an increase to its funding since 1998. Webb said the library decided not to ask the public for more money as a “show of good faith.” But while the funding for the library has not changed, costs for services have.
Looking at the 1998 budget, Webb said it cost $75,000 to buy books for each year. Now, he says, it costs over $500,000.
“I hate to burst their bubble,” Webb said of the Garland County Tax Alliance. “But the library does not live in some sort of fantasy world where costs have also not risen over the last 25 years.”
Webb said the cuts could have a “disastrous effect” on their budget. The library may have needed to close on weekends, which Webb says is their busiest time. They may have also needed to roll back online services or lay off staff.
Pritchett did not share this concern.
“I like Adam Webb,” he said. “I think he does a fine job running our library. However, he would not make a good economist.”
He said he only wanted to give the county's residents the opportunity to vote on the tax.
Webb believed there would be enough public backlash to the proposal that it would not pass, but he planned to do what he could to inform voters about the measure.
Last week, public comment was held on the proposal. According to The Arkansas Advocate, the majority of speakers supported the library. Mahoney’s decision came days later.
Pritchett told The Arkansas Advocate that he is “exploring his options” after the county judge's decision.
