Knowles Adkisson/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF/kadkisson@pbcommercial.com

Voters go to the polls today for a special election on a five-eighths cent sales tax to fund what supporters hope will be an economic revival of Pine Bluff, while opponents organize to defeat the proposal and make changes.

The Go Forward Pine Bluff task force estimates the tax will cost each household a little more than $15 per month, while raising roughly $4 million per year for seven years. The group hopes to raise roughly $20 million from business groups and grants. Private donors have already contributed $6 million to Go Forward, with the latest, the Trinity Foundation, announcing a $2 million contribution last week.

Simmons First Foundation Chairman Tommy May introduced the plan in January, following a year of meetings by a task force of 100 members.

A total of 2,213 voters cast ballots on the tax measure from the start of early voting on Tuesday, June 6 to the end of the day Monday, June 12, Jefferson County Clerk Shawndra Taggart said. 526 voters cast ballots on Monday alone, Taggart said.

Outside the courthouse Monday, Pine Bluff voter Shondra Eldridge told the Commercial she voted against the tax because she felt the plan was not specific enough, it focused too much on downtown and it would hurt poor and middle-class people. She questioned why owners of buildings downtown could not pay to improve their own properties.

Theres another way to do it without taxing us, Eldridge said. A vision is supposed to [show] exactly what youre targeting. They cant tell us what theyre targeting. Thats not a good vision.

Eldridge said she didnt necessarily feel that Go Forward was a bad plan, but that it needs to be revised.

Another voter, J.D. Smith, said he had lived in Pine Bluff for 68 years and knew when this town was booming. Smith said he voted in favor of the tax because he trusted the Go Forward leaders to use the tax money to improve the city.

It used to be a very popular town, Smith said. And it can be that way again. But we cant just sit around and do nothing.

Michael McCray, a spokesman for a group of opponents to the measure organized around the theme A Better Way Forward, said he feels good about the response hes seeing from community members to their campaign message to table the tax to negotiate changes.

Were getting our message out every day, and people are responding to it, McCray said. It feels like a lot of people were waiting to make up their mind, on both sides of the argument, and were gaining in support every day.

McCray and others have criticized the Go Forward Pine Bluff task force for creating the plan in private meetings and for requiring participants to sign non-disclosure agreements. The plan also lacks detailed budgets and timelines for projects, which McCray believes could lead to administrative bloat and outsized consultants fees. With the Go Forward Pine Bluff non-profit corporation placed in the role of executing the plan, opponents also argue there is not enough accountability to taxpayers.

People are responding to our videos, our messages, were starting to hear essentially our arguments, our talking points, repeated back to us, McCray said.

Supporters of the plan argue there is enough accountability, pointing out that according to the plan, the GFPB non-profit would request funding for a particular project, and the Pine Bluff City Council could either approve, deny or modify the request.

McCray also criticized the scheduling of the election in June rather than on a November general election ballot, when turnout would typically be higher. He believes the Pine Bluff Commercial, which has supported the plan in its editorial pages, has not given enough coverage to opponents of the plan.

There are a number of voices that are respected in the community that havent been represented in the editorial pages of the Commercial, but the message is definitely getting out in the community, McCray said.

A Better Way Forward had good turnout at a forum to discuss the Go Forward plan on Thursday last week, McCray said. The forum was hosted by the Pine Bluff branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at Kings Highway Missionary Baptist Church. McCray said Go Forward was invited to the forum but declined to send anyone. Go Forward Pine Bluff Chief Executive Officer Ryan Watley said Go Forward was not invited. A Better Way Forward asked to speak to the NAACP because Go Forward had spoken to the NAACP, Watley said.

Watley said he has been surprised by a higher-than-expected turnout during early voting, which began last Tuesday, June 6.

I think were around 2,000 [votes cast], looking for around 2,500 by the time early voting ends, which would be good, Watley said. Speaking with people on the streets, Watley said the support has been overwhelmingly positive and diverse in age, race and gender.

Starting on Tuesday last week, Watley has been running most mornings from the Jefferson Square mall to the Jefferson County Courthouse and uploading video of the runs to social media. On Monday, June 12, he said he was joined by former Pine Bluff High School track and field athletes Sam Glover and Ellis Jones.

That running, people have really been responsive to the line, Take your souls to the polls, Watley said.

Watley said Go Forward supporters will be working to get voters out and waiting for results at the groups headquarters at 204 South Main Street, about a block from the courthouse.

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Decision day for Go Forward Pine Bluff - Pine Bluff Commercial