The Jonesboro City Council is expected to make a final decision on a proposed one-cent sales tax that would fund transportation projects and an economic development commission. Mayor Harold Perrin explained the need for the tax before the Jonesboro City Council last night. Perrin said 7/8 cents of the tax would go toward funding 20 transportation projects in the city and would generate just over 14 million dollars a year. The remaining 1/8 cent of the tax would go toward the development of the Jonesboro Economic Development Commission and would generate almost two million dollars a year. If approved by the council, the proposal would go before voters in a special election November 10th. If voters pass the measure, money would be collected starting next June and the tax would last for 10 years. Perrin says the City Council must bring up the measure in three readings. The first reading of the proposal title was read last night. Another meeting would be held September 8th and the final reading would be on September 15th, where aldermen are expected to vote on sales tax proposal.
Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.