Leaders in Little Rock get ready for the 2025 budget

Little Rock, Arkansas – The city’s board of directors, department directors, and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. talked about how to balance the 2025 budget on Friday.

After voters rejected the 1% sales tax, the meeting’s topic was to come up with innovative solutions.

“We lost $35 million in my department,” stated Kevin Howard, the director of the Housing and Neighborhood Program.

“We’ve seen apartment complexes come up left and right around the city,” Howard stated. “Addressing some of those needs is hard when you have five inspectors go out to inspect these units on a daily basis, Monday through Friday.”

Additionally, Howard gave the audience an update on the city’s first unsheltered micro town, which is anticipated to be completed by the spring of next year.

Although the design is finished, they want to find innovative ways to pay for the property’s electrical and mechanical components. It was projected that the city had gone over budget by one million dollars.

The city’s budget exceeds $200 million.

According to the mayor, infrastructure, affordable housing, and public safety will continue to be priority objectives as we approach 2025.

“Our goal is to always be fiscally conservative stewards with the taxpayer dollars,” stated Scott.

Before Christmas, Scott intends to deliver the completed budget to the board of directors by the end of this month.