Pulaski County’s state representative wants to get moving on securing financing for a possible courthouse renovation project. Three renovation options, ranging from just under $4.9 million up to almost $8.6 million were recently presented to the county council and commissioners.
During a special council meeting Monday, Representative Doug Gutwein offered to have legislation drawn up, to allow a special tax to continue, rather than letting it expire at the end of 2020. He said that would bring in about $713,000 a year for bond payments.
But with Pulaski County already charging the highest local income tax rate in the state, council members are also looking at other options. Council President Jay Sullivan pointed out that some funding will be freed up in the economic development income tax fund once the Justice Center is paid off. He also raised the possibility of using money from the Cumulative Building Fund that’s typically earmarked for hospital improvements, but he isn’t sure if that’s actually legal.
County officials don’t believe that either of those options would cover the entire cost, though. There’s also the more traditional option of implementing a property tax to cover the bond payments.
In the end, Gutwein pointed out that county officials can decide later not to use the special legislation or only use part of it. But he wants to start drawing it up now, so he can introduce it when the legislative session starts in January. Council Member Brian Young suggested extending the tax for 10 years, as a starting point.
That would be enough to cover the cheapest option, which would involve fixing the building and adding a security checkpoint, but keeping Circuit Court where it is. Gutwein didn’t think the public would support the more expensive options to add on to the Justice Center.
