Mayor LaForce Consistently Pushed for Higher Spending, Higher Taxes

You may have heard radio ads for Mayor Belinda LaForce describing her past approach to managing Searcy's city finances. These ads do not tell the whole story.

The following time line lists Mayor Belinda LaForce's efforts to raise taxes and increase spending, including deficit spending, from December 2004 to the present. To place the time line in the context of an overall history of sales taxes in Searcy, we have started with the 1989 White County sales tax.

• 1989 - "Searcy does receive a percentage of White County's 1 percent sales-tax issue that was passed in 1989." (June 21, 2007 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• 1994 - "Searcy's first sales-tax issue was in 1994 at 0.5 percent, which removed the five mills of City General Property Tax and is still in place for general improvements and operation of the city. Residents pay only 0.8 of a mill of property tax, which is designated to police and fire pension and 1.2 mills of road taxes. All other property taxes paid in the city limits go toward county services and public schools." (June 21, 2007 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• December 2004 - As the City Council passed Mayor LaForce's 2005 budget, she called for a tax increase and announced she is continuing to work on a plan for the city's future (December 16, 2004 article in the Daily Citizen)
• April 2005 - Mayor LaForce unveiled her master plan for Searcy "built around civic development, with the center piece being the proposed construction of a 15 million dollar civic and aquatic center" (April 29 and May 1, 2005 articles in the Daily Citizen)
• May 2005 - The City Council rejected Mayor LaForce's master plan and its accompanying tax increase (May 12, 2005 article in the Daily Citizen)
• July 2005 - The people of Searcy passed "a ninemonth, short-term, 1 percent sales tax after the Central Fire Station and Courts building burned;" "It raised $3.7 million, which is being used to construct the new station. It also went to purchase a new fire engine and furnishings for the station." (June 21, 2007 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• December 2005-January 2006 -Mayor LaForce attempted to pass a deficit budget for 2006, and finally succeeded casting the tie-breaking vote to have a deficit budget for 2006 (December 21, 2005, January 7, 2006, and January 12, 2006 articles in the Daily Citizen; see also the January 10 and January 11 City Council Minutes from 2006)
• February 2006 - After designing and casting the deciding vote for a deficit budget for 2006, Mayor LaForce called for a permanent tax increase in her State of the City address (February 16, 2006 article in the Daily Citizen)
• July 2006 - The 1 percent Central Fire Station tax expired (July 1, 2006 article in the Daily Citizen)
• 2007 - Mayor Belinda LaForce proposed a 1 percent sales tax, which would have tripled the city sales tax from .5 to 1.5 percent; the City Council referred this tax to the people, and in the 2007 special election it was rejected by the voters
• December 2007 - Mayor LaForce proposed deficit spending for the 2008 budget (December 13, 2007 article in the Daily Citizen)
• 2009 - In May 2009, five aldermen (Arnett, Dixon, Sterling, English, and Chalenburg) passed an A&P tax of 1 percent on all prepared food and 3 percent on all short-term (less than 30 days) rental of accommodations
• December 2009 - Mayor LaForce proposed deficit spending for the 2010 budget
• 2010 - After collecting the tax illegally for six months, the tax was rejected by voters in a referendum election in April 2010; in her March 19, 2009 morning radio appearance on News Talk 99.1, Mayor LaForce said the A&P tax would not be enough for capital projects like a convention center, anyway; she said those projects would need an ADDITIONAL sales tax increase

Mayor Belinda LaForce has consistently increased spending despite efforts by the City Council to curtail her growth of the city expenditures. She has repeatedly proposed deficit spending, even casting the tie breaking vote to run the city with a deficit budget in 2006. She has also consistently proposed permanent sales tax increases to fund her big spending plans for Searcy.

Our local government should "live within its means" just like we do.