Marion County tables plan to add voluntary tax contribution for School of New Hope; seeks more information

The Court of Marion County, Arkansas, debated and then moved to postpone consideration of an ordinance that would add a voluntary contribution option on real and personal property tax statements to benefit the School of New Hope.

The proposed ordinance would establish a voluntary line on tax forms allowing taxpayers to donate an amount—examples discussed in the meeting ranged from $2 to $25—to the School of New Hope. Speaker 1 introduced the item and asked for a motion to proceed; Speaker 4 and others raised questions about how the donation line would appear on tax statements and whether a minimum amount should be set.

Speaker 2 said examples from other counties exist and noted, “at the bank, we've got statements from, like, Carroll County and Baxter County and on on the bottom of each of our statements for bank property. It's clearly listed out that it's not mandatory $5 or $10 ... it's just whatever.” Speaker 4 raised concerns about the cost to low‑income families, saying, “those individual dollars is a lot for some families.” Speaker 6 questioned whether the collector’s office has the staffing capacity to handle the bookkeeping and whether the county would need to hire additional staff to manage the donation processing.

After debate about a fixed minimum (Speaker 4 noted an ordinance currently lists a minimum of $15) and suggestions for allowing a fill‑in amount or a round‑up option, Speaker 1 moved that the matter be taken up at the next meeting to allow staff to consult with the collector’s office. The motion to defer was seconded and carried.

No formal appropriation or implementation steps were approved at this meeting; the court asked staff to report back with details on administration, minimum donation language and the collector’s capacity before taking further action.