Some months ago, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality informed the city of Mountain View to get its sewer plant and collection system into compliance with standards. On Tuesday, the city held a special vote regarding two options to bring the system into compliance and how to pay for it.
The first option was to retire the city’s old sewer bonds and then issue new bonds, combining what was owed on the old bonds with the financing for the required sewer project. The new bonds would be paid for with a one-cent sales tax that was already in place.
The second option was to raise the city’s water and sewer rates.
The voters overwhelmingly voted for the first option.
The first proposal to retire the old bonds passed with 70 percent of the vote, and the second proposal to combine the balance of the old bonds with the financing of the new sewer project passed with 75 percent of the vote.
Mayor Roger Gardner told White River Now’s Gary Bridgman that the voters gave the city a “definite” yes on Tuesday, coming out to cast their ballot with the pandemic and Tuesday’s rainy weather.
“The people spoke,” the mayor said. “We’re going to be good stewards of our money like we always have, and make sure we take care of things that need to be improved. They [the voters] gave us the trust to do the job, and we’re going to do it. This is progress for Mountain View, and we’re moving ahead.”
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