City & County turnback proposals are being distributed
We're in the process of receiving proposals on several funding proposals. As an alternative to funding GIF appropriations as they have been done in previous legislative sessions, some of which were found unconstitutional by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Wilson v. Weiss in violation of Amendment 14, the House is attempting to increase city/county turnbacks and to increase funding to rural fire departments, domestic violence shelters, and senior centers through a "statewide" appropriation for these groups. Here are some rough numbers for my district:
City/County Turnback:
We're confident that we have a minimum of $12,000,000 set aside for city/county turnbacks. I understand the governor may include an additional $3,000,000 from his side. It would be distributed on a per capita basis for cities; turnback for counties uses a statutory formula. The following figures do not include turnback from property tax relief.
Texarkana would receive $181,384.56 on the $12MM formula and $226,730.70 in the $15MM formula.
Miller County would receive $165,383.78 on the $12MM formula and $206,729.73 in the $15MM formula.
Fire protection services program (Act 833 funds):
Miller County would receive $57,600.00 of the $4,000,000 to be distributed.
Domestic Violence Shelter Funding (HB2005):
Domestic Violence Prevention of Texarkana would receive $30,000.00.
Senior Citizen Centers:
The following senior citizen centers in Texarkana would receive $11,000 each: Miller County, Sandflat, and Texarkana Housing Opportunities.
Other GIF proposals that are on the desk:
Each of the eight Planning & Development Districts would receive $250,000.00 and each state-supported college/university (two and four year institutions) would receive $100,000.00. These are all House numbers. GIF distributions always raise a fuss, but I'm on the "statewide impact" side if we're going to spend money on general improvements. I like to see funding used for projects with a statewide impact if it will help generate economic development, with the admission that that statement itself leaves a lot for interpretation. The editorial in this morning's Democrat-Gazette nailed my position on it.
City/County Turnback:
We're confident that we have a minimum of $12,000,000 set aside for city/county turnbacks. I understand the governor may include an additional $3,000,000 from his side. It would be distributed on a per capita basis for cities; turnback for counties uses a statutory formula. The following figures do not include turnback from property tax relief.
Texarkana would receive $181,384.56 on the $12MM formula and $226,730.70 in the $15MM formula.
Miller County would receive $165,383.78 on the $12MM formula and $206,729.73 in the $15MM formula.
Fire protection services program (Act 833 funds):
Miller County would receive $57,600.00 of the $4,000,000 to be distributed.
Domestic Violence Shelter Funding (HB2005):
Domestic Violence Prevention of Texarkana would receive $30,000.00.
Senior Citizen Centers:
The following senior citizen centers in Texarkana would receive $11,000 each: Miller County, Sandflat, and Texarkana Housing Opportunities.
Other GIF proposals that are on the desk:
Each of the eight Planning & Development Districts would receive $250,000.00 and each state-supported college/university (two and four year institutions) would receive $100,000.00. These are all House numbers. GIF distributions always raise a fuss, but I'm on the "statewide impact" side if we're going to spend money on general improvements. I like to see funding used for projects with a statewide impact if it will help generate economic development, with the admission that that statement itself leaves a lot for interpretation. The editorial in this morning's Democrat-Gazette nailed my position on it.
posted by Steve Harrelson @ 3/28/2007 01:50:00 PM | Permalink |
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