Alderman Mary Ann Arnett's Voting Record

Below is Alderman Mary Ann Arnett's voting record on key issues from January 2009 to September 2010. The Searcy City Council meeting minutes are available on the city’s Web site, Searcy.com and clicking on “City Departments” “Clerk/Treasurer” “Agendas/Minutes.”

• Voted against placing on the agenda "the issue of an A&P tax on the ballot for the citizens of Searcy to decide" (February 10, 2009)
• Voted against a motion to draft an ordinance to refer the A&P tax to the people (March 10, 2009)
• Voted against a motion to "set a special election to submit the Advertising and Tourism Promotions Tax for a vote by the people of Searcy" (April 14, 2009 and May 12, 2009)
• Voted for Ordinance 2009-10 levying the A&P tax on the people of Searcy without letting them vote on it (May 12, 2009)
• Voted for Ordinance 2009-18 allowing non-residents of Searcy to serve on the Searcy Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (June 9, 2009)
• Voted for the appointment of seven A&P commissioners three of whom were not qualified electors, which violated the Arkansas Constitution, despite being presented with an Attorney General's opinion indicating such action was unconstitutional (June 9, 2009)
• Voted against a motion "to allow the citizens of Searcy to vote on the A&P tax, and to suspend collection of the tax until after such vote" even though referendum petitions had been filed and City Clerk Peggy Meads had "certified the sufficiency of signatures on the petitions" (July 14, 2009)
• Voted for Ordinance 2009-24 setting many new restrictions on the number and duration of yard sales within city limits (July 14, 2009)
• Voted to postpone indefinitely the appropriation of funds to hold an election on the A&P tax despite a September 30, 2009 ruling that the referendum petitions had been filed in a timely manner - Alderman Dale English later testified this ruling was Judge Tom Hughes' ruling (October 13, 2009)
• Voted against waiting on a proposal to make city elections nonpartisan until after a public hearing had been held on the subject (November 10, 2009)
• Voted for Resolution 2009-15 making city elections nonpartisan; nonpartisan elections have several negative effects on elections (November 10, 2009)
• Voted to hold a special election on the A&P tax in April instead of waiting one month to hold the election in May, which cost the city thousands of dollars (December 8, 2009 and December 21, 2009)
• Voted against a motion to allow 90 days for the filing of referendum petitions (January 12, 2010)
• Voted for Ordinance 2010-03 restricting the deadline for referendum petitions to 30 days, limiting the time allowed for citizens to gather enough signatures to refer any city legislation for a vote of the people; referendum petitions are a check against city governments that act against the will of the people (February 23, 2010)
• Voted for Ordinance 2010-07 "for procedural rules of governance for meetings of the Searcy City Council," which codified Mayor Belinda LaForce's tight control of City Council meetings, largely replaced Robert's Rules of Order, the standard for Arkansas Municipal League meetings, as the guidelines for City Council meetings, and greatly restricted citizens from participating in City Council meetings (March 9, 2010)
• Voted against a motion to amend the A&P tax refund ordinance with the recommendations from the A&P tax refund committee, which attempted to address all problems that may occur and to make it as easy as possible for those who paid the tax to have it returned (June 22, 2010)
• Voted against "a motion to suspend consideration" of the new large scale development inspection fees "for thirty days to allow time to study the fee structure" (July 13, 2010)
• Voted for Ordinance 2010-22 creating a Searcy Tree Board (August 10, 2010)
• Voted for Ordinance 2010-24 establishing new "permit fees related to large-scale developments" (September 14, 2010)