"If this all fails and we can't do any other work that we want to do, we're still paying the 2% sales tax until everything's paid off," Brookland Mayor Kenneth Jones told Jonesboro Right Now in August. "So, it doesn't change a thing, except restructure the bond so that we can have more money to do more projects with."
That quote explains most of the November 3 ballot. Brookland voters will see six separate bond questions. All six pledge the same existing 2% local sales and use tax, and none of them creates a new tax. The real question is how much the city can build with money it is already collecting. A lot of that answer is sitting half-finished along School Street, out at the sportsplex, and in the car line on Highway 49.
A Tax That Gets Refinanced Every Five Years
The tax goes back to Ordinance 2015-25, which the city adopted on August 31, 2015, and amended in March 2021. Jonesboro Right Now reports that voters first approved it to pay for municipal water improvements. The bonds behind it can be refunded and restructured every five years to raise money for other projects.
The last restructuring came in 2021. It paid for the first phase of the sportsplex, the first phase of a new municipal building, and sewer improvements. According to the ordinance calling this election, the 2021 money didn't cover the park and the municipal building because inflation and rising construction and materials costs ate into it.
The ordinance also spells out when the tax ends. It expires once there's enough money to pay off every bond secured by it and the council decides no more bonds will be issued against it. That is the mechanism behind the mayor's point. The tax runs until the debt is retired, whatever happens in November.
The Half of Each Project You Can Already See
Two of the six questions would finish projects that already exist, so they aren't new ideas.
The first is the municipal center on School Street. Phase one, the police station, was completed in June 2026. The department held an open house there in May, and Police Chief Jon Moore said the building would help officers "serve the community better," with dedicated interview and evidence rooms. Phase two is the rest of the building: a city hall with council chambers and new offices. So right now the police have their new space and city hall is still waiting.
The second is the sportsplex. Earlier Jonesboro Sun reporting placed the complex on a 50-acre site on County Road 760, west of the new Highway 49. In August, Jones said the ball fields are finished. What's left is concession stands, fencing, and lighting. Back in March, KAIT reported that the complex had "hit some financial speed bumps," and Jones said residents would have the final say when the time came. This ballot is that moment.
Six Questions, Six Ceilings
Each question gets its own For and Against box. The dollar figures in the ordinance are maximum principal amounts, meaning the most the city could borrow for that purpose.
| Ballot question | Maximum principal | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Refunding Bonds | $4,640,000 | Refinancing the Series 2021 bonds |
| Park Improvement Bonds | $7,450,000 | Finishing the park and ball field facilities |
| Municipal Building Improvement Bonds | $3,445,000 | Finishing the building that holds city offices and the police station |
| Sewer Improvement Bonds | $3,385,000 | Extensions and improvements to the sewer system |
| Street Improvement Bonds | $7,910,000 | Paving, sidewalks, drainage, signals, and related street work |
| Emergency Facilities Bonds | $725,000 | Storm and emergency shelters and alert sirens |
The ceilings add up to about $27.5 million, which matches the "up to $27.5 million" figure KAIT reported. Jones has given a different number. He told Jonesboro Right Now the project cost, if approved, would be under $18 million, and the outlet added an editor's note clarifying that figure. The two figures measure different things. One is the legal borrowing limit across all six questions, refinancing included. The other is the mayor's estimate of what the work will cost. None of the published coverage reconciles the two line by line, so ask about it at the council meeting or a town hall.
Where the Street Money Is Pointed
The street question is the biggest single item. It's also the one most tied to a problem people sit in every school day.
In August, the city council adopted a resolution declaring the intersection of US 49 North and School Street an immediate public-safety hazard. At the September 8 meeting, Jones told the council that school car lines had been backing up onto Highway 49 and blocking the southbound lanes. Superintendent George Kennedy then walked the council through changes the district had already made to ease the backup. Kennedy also said he would recommend that the school board pass a resolution supporting the city.
The bond package targets three pieces of that traffic pattern:
- Highway 49 at Pine Log Road, improved in partnership with ARDOT, which is expected to start bid letting in April 2027.
- Highway 49 at School Street, also with ARDOT, with bid letting expected in September 2027 or early 2028.
- A new city street on the north side of Brookland Intermediate, which would move primary and elementary drop-off traffic off School Street.
Jones described the route this way: "Elementary and primary will come in from Pine Log and come up, hit the new road, and come around, and when it gets around there, they'll split off – primary, go to primary; elementary, go to elementary. That will basically take most of the car traffic off of School Street, except for exiting."
The new intermediate campus already changed things this fall. The 83,000-square-foot building on Dixie Road opened for classes in August, and school administrators redesigned its traffic loop to cut congestion at drop-off and pickup. The bond's road work picks up where that campus redesign stops, out on the city streets and state highway.
Jones said plans have been drawn for most of the projects. If the questions pass, work could start around March 2027.
The Smallest Question on the Ballot
The emergency facilities question has the lowest ceiling of the six, at $725,000. Brookland has one community storm shelter right now. Jones said the city wants a second one like it, smaller shelters spread around town, and more sirens as the city grows.
Those would be in addition to a shelter that just opened. The gym at the new intermediate school doubles as a tornado shelter, and Kennedy said the city can use it after hours during warnings. No published source yet names specific locations for the new shelters or sirens, or the sewer areas the sewer question would cover.
Where to Ask Questions, and Where to Vote
As of the September 8 council meeting, the city was waiting for permission from the Arkansas Municipal League to hold a town hall about the bonds. As of early October, the city calendar doesn't show one. The next regular City Council meeting is October 13. The town hall Justice of the Peace Garrett Barnes held at the Jonesboro library on October 1 covered Jonesboro's proposed public safety tax and the county collector and treasurer merger. It didn't cover Brookland's bonds.
Voting logistics from the Craighead County Election Commission:
- Early voting runs October 19 through November 2. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, with an early 5 p.m. close on Monday, November 2.
- Early voting locations are the Election Annex at 315 W. Jefferson in Jonesboro and the Lake City Eastern Annex at 113 Cobean in Lake City.
- Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. You can vote at any open county vote center, including Wood's Chapel Baptist Church at 175 Hwy. 230 East in Brookland.
The county set October 5 as the last day to register for this election. All six questions use the same tax, and each one passes or fails on its own. The full ballot wording is in the city ordinance, and reading it before you vote takes about ten minutes.
Projects like the Highway 49 intersections and a new street near the schools shape daily routines in Brookland for years. If you own a home near School Street or Pine Log Road and want to talk through how planned city work could affect the timing of a sale or purchase, Kay L Doss is glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll go through the dates and what's already been confirmed, one step at a time.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
