An effort by Go Forward Pine Bluff to extend the five-eights cent citywide sales tax for an additional seven years failed by a wide margin Tuesday night.
In addition, a proposed three-eights cent sales tax devoted to public safety, specifically the police and fire departments also went down to defeat.
Jefferson County Election Commissioner Sam Beavers announced the final results.
Again the complete but unofficial results were as follows:
Five-eights cent tax
For 1,490
Against 1,959
Three-eights cent tax
For 1,560
Against 1,763
Neither tax was able to generate support as the numbers showed both trailing when early and absentee votes were tabulated, and the margin of loss increased as the night wore on.
This was the second time this year that the taxes failed and this time by a wider margin than the first time around.
Also, fewer people voted this time compared to in May.
Voters in the Watson Chapel School District were also asked to vote on the district’s current millage and while 348 people said no to the tax, it will remain at its current level. There were 285 people who voted for the tax.
