The Bigger, The Better in Bentonville Bond Extension

March 17, 2021

Politics

The Bigger, The Better in Bentonville Bond Extension

On Feb. 9, 2021, The Bentonville, Arkansas City Council asked voters to consider a bond extension that will allow infrastructure, public safety, and efficiency improvements without a tax increase - utilizing the extension of a city 1% sales tax. Among those improvements are a new radio system, new police training facilities and a library expansion.

  • A special election to be held on April 13 will ask residents to approve approximately $266 million in bonds by extending a 1% city sales tax. Included in that proposal will be $4.9 million for library expansion, used towards a 6,400 sqft addition and renovation to 10,000 sqft of the interior.
  • To Library Director, Hadi Dudley, this is a really important vote and pivotal to Bentonville's growth. "An expansion is necessary to better align the library with growth in population, school enrollment and city development cited in the 2018 Bentonville Community Plan." -NWA Democrat-Gazette

  • Another $6.6 million will be allocated for the new radio system, $3.9 million for the fire training facility and $1.6 million for the police training building. A new system is desperately needed for inter-operations and communications in the department, and new technology will assist officers in virtual deescalation and judgmental use-of-force training simulations. -NWA Democrat Gazette


More to come on this as the vote approaches next month, but in the meantime you can read the current statement HERE.

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