The Arkansas Municipal League is an association that provides education, legal services and other kinds of consultations to city officials in Arkansas. It also helps advocate for the interests of cities to the Arkansas State Legislature. On Wednesday a little over two dozen officials took part in a discussion presided over by the Municipal League’s General Counsel and Legislative Director John Wilkerson. Legislative Liaison Jack Critcher and Legal Counsel Blake Gary also contributed to the talk. They form the league’s legislative advocacy team. 

The delegation from Hope included Mayor Don Still, City Manager J.R. Wilson and Assistant City Manager Daniel Shelman.  Former Hope City Manager Catherine Cook was also present as the league’s field representative for Southwest Arkansas. 

Wilkerson led the gathering through several resolutions the league has passed.  It hopes that these will find their way into legislation in the session that starts in January of next year. Officials were invited to and often did provide feedback on the resolutions during the session. 

These resolutions included allowing cities to use economic development funding to help recruit and grow retail businesses, the potential use of a 3 percent sales tax collection fee currently collected by the state to help fund water and wastewater projects in towns that need them, the elimination of the burden on cities and counties of funding district courts and the removal of the prohibition on the use of a city’s street funds to cover the costs of severe emergencies. 

The Arkansas Municipal League has been staging legislative roundtables for the past several days, having presided over sessions in Springdale, Harrison and Fort Smith prior to coming to Hope. On Thursday a session was held in Monticello and another is planned in Forrest City Friday.  More sessions may be announced later.