The thought has many residents questioning if East End should become incorporated. The East Ender investigated the issue.

            Why should East Enders consider incorporating? County Judge Lanny Fite says it will give East Enders more control over their community. “It allows you to make your own laws,” he said. “It brings you closer to elected officials.”

            He did admit it would not be easy in the beginning. “You’d have a lot of growing pains. But 10 years from now, you could make a real difference in the community,” he said.

            Jeff Arey, mayor of Haskell, population 2,645, says becoming a city would give residents a chance to have better representation with county and state officials. “I think it gives a little more community involvement,” he said. “You get more sense of who you are and where you are going, and a better representation of what the needs are locally.”

            Mayor Arey explained the set-up in Haskell. The city currently has a full-time mayor, two full-time and four part-time police officers, and four people who run the water, sewer and road department. Road repair is handled completely by the city. Haskell has its own asphalt machine and does not contract out the work. Arey says contracting the work would be more expensive.

            Haskell has a court clerk, an officer manager, a part-time recorder/treasurer, and a part-time judge who hears cases once a month – mostly traffic violations. “We just hired a code enforcement officer part-time who tours the city every week and visits with people and writes tickets,” he said. This officer looks for violations of city ordinances, such as junk cars and other debris in yards.

            To pay for all the services, Ayer says his city does have the highest millage that law will allow – that is .0050. For a $100,000 home, that equates to $100 a year for a family.

            Another source of income for the city comes from the state general fund turn-back. That amounts to $18 per person this year. For a city with the population of East End, that would mean $101,214 per year. Plus, the city is given state turn-back for road repair at an amount equal to $46 per person for 2001. For East End, that would equate to $258,658 annually.

            Other revenue could be generated by creating occupational and privilege license fees, permit and inspection fees, sales and use tax, and franchise fees.

            The franchise fee is paid by utility companies (i.e. electric, cable, phone) that do business in the area for the use of the public right-of-way and for the delivery of these services.

            Becoming a city could also allow the area to apply for various federal grants. The Arkansas Department of Economic Development offers grants to qualifying municipalities for the purpose of meeting general community improvement needs, such as water and sewer services; community facilities like senior centers, public health care facilities and youth centers; or road improvement.

            The Department of Agriculture also offers a similar grant program whose funds could be used toward building a community center with a gym and pool, a library, or some other type of community facility. East End may also be eligible to apply for a Social Services Block Grant through the Department of Human Services. This money would be used for human services programs like home delivered meals and transportation services.

How is it done?

The law regarding the procedure for becoming a city has recently changed this legislative session. According to David Schoen, an attorney for the Municipal League, the law now requires 200 people or a majority of the voters in the district, whichever is greater, to file a petition with the county court. (The law previously required only 75 people to petition.)

            The petition must describe the territory, state the name for the proposed city, and list the names of the persons authorized to act in its behalf.  If the court is satisfied with the documentation, and notice has been placed in a local newspaper to allow others to contest, the court will then grant permission for the area to become a city.

            The only other qualification Schoen notes is that the proposed city must get written permission from any city that is within five miles of the border. For East End, based on boundaries, that could mean Little Rock and Shannon Hills.

Some Pros vs. Cons

Possible Pros

• More control over local laws

• Road department

• Police department

• Local government officials

• City name

• Ability to set up funds for parks, library

• Zone enforcement

• Possible leash law

• Set own speed limits

• Ability to apply for federal grants

Possible Cons

• Could result in more taxes

• A lot of work to set up government and laws

• More laws

• Possible leash law

• More zone enforcement

• Legal requirements

• Liability requirements

• Increased citizen involvement needed