Politics

This week we received the Fiscal Year 2023 Revenue Summary. It shows we ended the fiscal year with the second-largest surplus in state history.

Results from collections and distributions for FY 2023 reached $7.185 billion. That is $1.161 billion in excess of the full funding level for the Revenue Stabilization Act representing a surplus.

The 2023 fiscal year ended above forecast in all major categories of collections and above year-ago levels in sales tax collections. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration says this broad-based gain resulted from another year of high growth in sales tax collections and less decline in income tax categories than expected from tax rate reductions.

The 94th General Assembly passed Act 532 which reduced the state’s top income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%. As a result, individual income tax collection was less than the previous year but still $42.4 million above what economic forecasters predicted.

Sales and Use tax collections for FY

2023 were $263.6 million or 8.4% over FY 2022. Corporate income taxes saw an increase of $5.3 million or .6% above FY 2022.

In the 2023 Regular Session, the General Assembly passed Act 561 which authorized the transfer from the previous year’s unobligated surplus funds and up to $380.6 million in projected surplus funds from this year to the restricted reserve fund. Act 561 prioritizes spending of the restricted reserve fund on projects such as educational facilities, correctional facilities, the state crime lab, teacher academy scholarships, and the UAMS National Cancer Institute Designation Trust Fund.

Revenue reports help guide our decision making when it comes to state spending and tax reduction.

The FY 2023 Revenue Report shows us that our state’s economy is growing and outperforming expectations. In fact, for the month of June alone revenues were above forecast and year-ago levels in all major categories.

We’ve posted the revenue summary at arkansashouse.org.

Arkansas celebrated Independence Day this year the same way it always does, by closing out the state fiscal year with a balanced budget and beginning a new fiscal year with a balanced budget in place.

The state fiscal year ends on June 30 and begins on July 1, so technically July 4 is not the first day of the new fiscal year. However, it usually takes a day or two for budget officials to complete their final tally of the state’s fiscal performance during the past year.

Fiscal Year 2023, which just ended, was one of the best in Arkansas history. The state closed out the fiscal year with a budget surplus of $1.161 billion.

The grand total of general revenue collections was $8.85 billion, although some of that was returned to taxpayers as refunds and credits, or used to settle claims.

Some categories within the budget performed better than others, but overall the state saw revenue grow by 0.9 percent over the previous year.

The size of the surplus is proof that the legislature budgets very conservatively. Since 2015, in every regular session the legislature has reduced taxes, therefore the increase in state revenue from one year to the next cannot be attributed to higher tax rates. Instead, it is due to the general strength of the Arkansas economy.

The secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration said that the Arkansas economy outperformed expectations, and the state’s strong economy resulted in the surplus.

Revenue from the state sales tax is a measure of how much consumers are buying. In Fiscal Year 2023 the total was $3.4 billion. That was 8.4 percent greater than the previous year.

Individual income taxes were down by 6.1 percent, largely due to tax cuts enacted by the legislature.

Generally, fluctuations in revenue from the income tax are a gauge of employment trends. Income taxes are deducted from their paychecks, so they indicate how many people are working and how well they’re being paid, State budget officials expected the drop in revenue caused by the income tax cuts. But even after they lowered their estimate of revenue in the official forecast, actual collections continued to be greater than predicted. For example, individual income tax revenue in fiscal 2023 was 1.1 percent above forecast.

Another reason for the surplus was that the legislature performed its duty to hold down spending levels for state agencies, based on the economic forecast.

Arkansas will be able to celebrate next July 4 because no matter what happens over the course of the current fiscal year, spending will fall in line with revenue forecasts. That’s because of the Arkansas balanced budget law known as the Revenue Stabilization Act.

The act mandates that spending decisions by state government are similar to financial decisions made by families over the kitchen table.

Basically, if revenue slows down, so does spending. If the legislature’s conservative budgeting produces yet another large surplus, there will be more money for reserve funds and emergencies. Also, there will be further consideration of possible tax cuts.

Crypto Mine

continued from page 2 sess the potential impact of actions “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” This requirement under NEPA does not prohibit harm to the environment, but rather requires advanced identification and disclosure of harm.

“When you start creating a lot of noise, using up a lot of water and electricity, it becomes a concern,” Daniel said. “Depending on where it was put, NEPA even gets concerned with wildlife, insects, historic places if it affects the view if you get it close to a national forest or something like that. There are just all kinds of things that NEPA takes into consideration. But I think the ordinance will take care of everything.”

RF and Wi-Fi interference

If the carbon footprint and the possibility of taxing resources wasn’t enough, in an area that already has enough issues receiving quality WiFi and RF signals, cryptomining has had several reports over the years of interfering with those signals. If a facility was to pop up in the Polk County area, it could possibly result in signal loss.

During the meeting, Daniel mentioned there are already issues in the Siloam Springs area. “There’s a potential for radio frequency interference because of the lack of quality in some of the RF devices they might use. Some of them they use are all fiber, but there’s a strong possibility there could be RF interference, which would affect everything from cellphones to televisions to baby room monitors.

The airport could be another issue. “I get called in from time to time to help the FCC track down stuff,” Daniel said. “It’s always because FM broadcast is right below the aviation band. It’s always a faulty transmitter, harmonic filter, or a band pass filter that’s not tuned right that’s causing it. We normally can track it down and get it corrected pretty quick, but because some of these devices that are being used — especially the RF ones — they’re not built with any standards. They’re built really cheap. It could interfere with any of the spectrums. It could interfere with us in radio because some of those devices, even though they’re in a certain frequency range, we had one on the Amsterdam water tank some years ago that was creating havoc on the Mena Fire Department. We actually had to move the Mena Fire Department’s radio to [another location]. Could it interfere again with dispatch between emergency services? Daniel said, “How likely is it? I don’t know. There are so many different potential problems with it I think it was very important to get this ordinance in place quick.”

Property values and jobs

Ellison had additional trepidations.

“I think my biggest concern is property values and the General Assembly actually taking local control away from the local governing body. That’s what kind of upset me the most. They shouldn’t do that. It’s not really their role. They’ve given an exemption to players who are not local players… I think without giving it a lot of thought, in my opinion.”

As for a data center creating several jobs in the area, Ellison doesn’t believe that would happen. “My understanding, there is not really any employees. There’s probably a couple of security guard positions and not really a lot else. Once those computers are all set up and running, they run from a remote somewhere else.

I don’t ever want to do anything to discourage business, but this is one we probably ought to at least get this done by August 1st. If we find later this is a very good business, we could always repeal this if we find that we erred. We were kind of down to the last minute.”

Broadband initiative

As mentioned in the June 28 issue of the Polk County Pulse there is a big broadband initiative to make available affordable broadband service to every household in Polk County, regardless of how far out someone may live. It was brought up at the end of the meeting. If a large sum of money and work goes into that program and it’s derailed by a crypto farm using inexpensive, unregulated equipment that causes interference, it’s counterproductive.

“There’s probably not an initiative more important to me right now than this broadband deal,” Ellison said. “We’ve got to get this done. Our county is pretty tough to get broadband out to. Clearly, there’s going to be money available. We want to have the best grants and the best internet service providers we can get, and hopefully competition so that once the strings attached runs out on this federal money maybe they’re not tied to $60 a month like they’re going to be initially, we want competition here so that you’ll have somewhere to turn if somebody gets out of hand on pricing. Not to mention on service and other things.

“We want to make a push. I want to periodically update maybe every couple of weeks where we’re at, what we’re doing and what I want to ask the community to do. There are surveys we’re going to want them to take and we want the broadband office in Little Rock to see that Polk Coun- ty is participating because it’s going to make our applications a lot more attractive. We feel certain we’re going to get money, but we want to get enough money to complete coverage. If they take grant money, the standard’s going to be 100 Mbps/20Mbps and $60 per month. We know that’s quality and that’s affordable. Most people in Polk County are going to be eligible for $30 off of that through the broadband office. You may be getting high-speed internet for $30. We really need to make a big push and get this done. It’s a must.”

Summary

Ellison, and some of the other justices of the peace agreed they would not want to run off business, but if a data center were to come to the area, they must meet the requirements of the ordinance. If such a center came to Polk County, met the requirements and proved it was a beneficial asset to the county and did not have a negative impact on the people or in other manners, then the option to repeal the ordinance is always there.

Is crypto truly the way currency will be handled in the future? Cryptocurrency was really booming for a while, with a single bitcoin being worth several thousand dollars. But in the past year crypto companies FTX, Voyager, BlockFi and Celcius have all filed for bankruptcy. The most recent victim is Bittrex, who announced this year they were filing for bankruptcy on May 8. That might slow the building of centers.

Some centers may meet all the prerequisites, manage to keep the noise levels down, and be ecologically responsible, as well as making a profit. Perhaps it could bring jobs or more businesses to the area. We’ll just have to wait to cross that ethernet bridge when it happens.

Alfred (Al) Marx

Alfred (Al) Marx, 87, of Mena passed away Sunday, July 2, 2023, in Mena, Arkansas. He was born in Eagle Lake, Texas, on November 8, 1935, to Alfred and Louise Marx.

Al served in the US Army. Following his discharge, he moved to St. Louis where he graduated from Washington University with a degree in engineering and began his career with US Motors. In the early ‘70s, he moved with his family to Mena and worked at Motors until retiring in 2000. After retiring, he worked part time for Arkansas Game and Fish, mostly at Lake Wilhelmina. He also dabbled in worm ranching, but that’s another story.

Al was a smart and inventive guy; his stepsons called him “MacGyver.” He was quiet and humble and was known for his humor and quick wit. The most important thing he would like you to know is he was a Christian.

Al was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Rose Marie. He is survived by his wife, Pat of Mena; his son, Randy Marx and wife, Cathy of Durango, Colorado; two stepsons, Eli and Michael Koorey and their wives, and six grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service to celebrate Al’s life on Friday, July 21, 2023, at 10:00 AM at the Grace Bible Church in Mena, Arkansas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grace Bible Church mission fund.

Lester

Gene Spencer

Lester Gene Spencer, age 73, of Gun Barrel City, Texas, passed away on June 8, 2023, in Arkansas.

Lester was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Bennie and Ruby Murphy Spencer. At age 10, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. He graduated in 1968 from H. Grady Spruce High School. Before getting drafted, Les worked as a naturalist for the Museum of Natural History in Dallas. He served three years in the U.S. Army (1969-1972), including one year in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne.

After the Army, he went to work for the Dallas Zoo as an animal handler. Les loved animals and had many unusual pets. Later he was a photographer and reporter for the Mena Star in Arkansas. He went on to be a traveling portrait photographer and had his own studio at Olan Mills in Dallas. Les loved the open road and became an over-the-road truck driver after his studio closed. From the age of 14, motorcycles were his passion, and he spent vacations traveling. He was a member of the Christian Motorcyclist Association and a baptized believer.

Les is pre-deceased by his parents and sister Shirley Montgomery. Also, many aunts, uncles and cousins.

He is survived by his wife Sandy, children Katherine Jenkins (Justin), Thomas Allen, William Abercrombie (Shannon), Kristin Allen, and daughters, Brittany Burden (Bennett) and husband David and Shanna Burden; two sons, Zaine and Mason Burden; two grandchildren, Kayden Vann and Laykyn Tuggle; longtime girlfriend, Chastity Bastien; honorary step-children, Hannah Kirk and Oliva Kirk; father, Sidney Burden; mother, Linda Jagger; stepmother, Denise Burden; brother, Chad Burden; sisters, Chassy Gallagher and husband Mike, Levi Waid and husband Josh, and Stacey Burden; nieces and nephews, Dallas, Gavin, Jordyn, Brody, Haylee, Bradlee, JuJu, Connor, Cooper, Chadra, Chad Aaron, Trey, Kyler, Cavell, and Tyra.

10 grandchildren. Also, brotherin-law Craig Montgomery, niece Jennifer Starkey (Sean), nephews Jason Allen and John Montgomery (Effie), uncle George Murphy (Debbie), aunts Fern Knight (Loyd), and Charlotte Mayfield, and many cousins, great nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at roselawn-funerals.com for the Spencer family.

Mr. Shannon D. “Kuntry”

Burden, age 44, passed away Friday, July 7, 2023, in Mena, Arkansas. He was born October 9, 1978, to Sidney Darrell Burden and Linda Lue Thompson, in Wilson, Oklahoma.

Kuntry was a rigger in industrial construction by profession. He also was the beloved owner of Kuntry’s Blue Collar Bar & Grill in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was an outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, hunting, motorcycle riding, drinking, playing pool and shooting guns. Kuntry was an animal lover, but above all else he loved spending time with his kids. Kuntry had a zest for life and could be heard often saying his favorite quote, “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning” and his life motto “Fast cars, fast motorcycles, and beautiful women are all you need in life.”

Kuntry is survived by his two

He is preceded in death by his grandmother, Bernell Powers and his uncles, Robin Powers and Doug Collins.

Funeral service will be Thursday, July 13, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at the Beasley-Wood Chapel with Randy Elliott officiating. Interment will follow in the Johnson Creek Cemetery in Black Fork, Arkansas, under the direction of the Beasley-Wood Funeral Home.

Pallbearers will be Chuck Cox, Dib Deal, Jon Shaw, Billy Ray Cowette, Brian Rodgers, and Shaun Wyman. Leading bearers are Mason Burden and Kayden Vann. Honorary Pallbearers are Wayne Cunningham and Weldon Beaty.

Online obituary at beasleywoodfuneralhome.com