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Record of Proceedings

Fayetteville City Council Meeting - April 7, 2026: Financial Report, Farmers Market Expansion, and Damage Claims Ordinance Discussed

City Council — Tuesday, April 7, 2026
BodyFayetteville, Arkansas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:38:47

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Okay, good good evening, everyone.

0:03

I would now like to call the April 7th meeting of the Fayetteville City Council to order.

0:08

Clerk Paxton, will you please call the roll?

0:12

Dr.

0:12

Jones.

0:13

Here.

0:14

Ms.

0:15

Moore?

0:15

Here.

0:16

Mr.

0:16

Wheedaker.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Mr.

0:18

Barna.

0:19

Here.

0:20

Ms.

0:20

Bunch.

0:23

Ms.

0:24

Tark?

0:24

Here.

0:26

Minister Jones.

0:28

Mr.

0:29

Stafford.

0:31

Here.

0:32

Mayor Ron.

0:33

Please join me for the states of the mayor.

0:56

Okay.

0:57

Very first things first.

1:00

We have our city council presentations and reports.

1:05

The first one will be our monthly financial report from our chief financial officer.

1:09

The housing needs and assessment report has been delayed for two weeks in order for us to capture some data that we are waiting on from one of our partner organizations.

1:21

So we will hear that presentation in two weeks from Marley Stark.

1:24

But for tonight, Stephen Dodson has our sales tax and financial report.

1:28

Stephen, please go ahead.

1:30

Thank you, Mayor.

1:36

This is the January sales tax report.

1:39

In January, we saw taxable sales in the city totaling approximately 260 million, which was an increase of nearly 5.1% or 12.6 million compared to January of 2025.

1:53

Retail trade was up 3% year over year, representing an increase of $3.8 million.

1:59

In this category, we saw accommodation and food services were up 4% or roughly $1.2 million.

2:07

We noted the transportation and warehousing was up $2.6 million year over year.

2:13

And uh rebates in January of 2026 in the construction sector were $2.77 million.

2:19

And in the educational services sector were $4.4 million.

2:24

And those rebates were actually half of what we had experienced in 2025.

2:30

So we're now seeing the other side of the coin as far as the rebates go.

2:34

Some months we we note those effects, and other months those drop off.

2:40

Moving on to the actual tax collection results in January of 2026 compared to 2025.

2:46

The City 1 penny was up 5% or approximately 122,000.

2:51

The county portion of the city was up 2.1% or 41,000, resulting in a total combined sales tax collection increase of 3.73%, or approximately 164,000 compared to January of 2025.

3:08

And looking at the tax revenues compared to uh what was actually budgeted, in January of 2026, the City 1 penny was up approximately 2% or roughly $50,000 compared to budget.

3:22

The county portion that was down around 0.87% or down roughly 17,000 for a combined total uh for the month of January up 0.7 percent compared to budget or approximately 32,000.

3:38

Uh can I answer any questions for anybody on the uh sales tax report?

3:46

Oh I'm sorry.

3:50

Okay, uh moving on to the a monthly financial report, and this report is for February of 2026.

3:56

Starting off in the general fund, we noted that our property taxes were down around 2300.

4:02

Our sales tax was down one percent or roughly $56,000 uh through the compared to budget through the month of February.

4:10

Our franchise fees were flat.

4:13

Um alcoholic beverage fees, we noted that those were down around 9% or 17,000, and really that's the second month we've experienced uh so far uh with uh a downturn in those alcoholic beverage fees, so that's something that we'll watch.

4:27

Our building permit fees, those were up around 46 percent, or roughly 261,000 through the month of February.

4:35

Uh state turn back, that was flat.

4:38

Uh our charges for services were up two percent in the general fund or around 8,500.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Insurance Claims███████████████████████████27%
Zoning And Land Use███████████████████████23%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Community Engagement███████████11%
Fiscal Sustainability████████8%
Economic Development████████8%
Procedural████4%
Flood Management█1%
Water And Wastewater Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Fayetteville City Council Meeting - April 7, 2026

The Fayetteville City Council met on April 7, 2026, to receive a monthly financial report, discuss several land-use ordinances, and consider proposals to expand the Farmers Market and revise damage claim procedures. The meeting included public testimony on market governance and a homeowner's claim. Key items were held for further review.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously by roll call vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Farmers Market Expansion (C3): Matt Varros, former vendor, expressed concerns about discrimination, lack of transparency, and board oversight. Cody Condry, board president, defended the market's processes and noted his recusal from decisions involving his partner, the market manager. Tyler Eck, a vendor, called for city oversight. Mark Kane and James Morgan, long-time vendors, supported the market and described its democratic and transparent nature.
  • Damage Claims Ordinance (C4): Chris Strocks, the affected homeowner, stated that he had not received follow-up from the city's adjuster despite a request for additional information. He noted the claim was the largest the adjuster had worked on for the city and that displacement costs exceeded typical insurance coverage of 120 days.

Discussion Items

  • Monthly Financial Report: CFO Stephen Dodson presented the January 2026 sales tax report, showing taxable sales of approximately $260 million (up 5.1% year-over-year) and combined sales tax collections up 3.73%. The February 2026 general fund was down 0.4% compared to budget. The housing needs assessment report was delayed two weeks pending data from a partner organization.
  • Unfinished Business – CCR Ordinance: An ordinance to prohibit detention/retention ponds on CCR-zoned property was discussed. Councilmember Turk introduced an amendment to allow such ponds only if serving a permitted use in Use Unit One. The council voted to adopt the amendment but hold the ordinance on first reading for two weeks to allow further review.
  • New Business – Vacation of Utility Easement (C1): An ordinance to vacate 0.11 acres of utility easement northeast of South Washington Avenue and East Martin Luther King Boulevard was approved unanimously after suspension of rules.
  • New Business – Rezoning (C2): A rezoning of 0.5 acres at 957 South Hill Avenue from RMF-24 to RIU was approved unanimously. The property is near the National Cemetery and the University of Arkansas Art District.
  • New Business – Farmers Market Expansion (C3): Staff and market manager Kayla Lindsay proposed expanding the market footprint onto Mountain Street, adding Tuesday night markets (2:30–10 p.m.), extending the season (last two Saturdays in March through Christmas), and allowing alcoholic beverage sales. Councilmembers raised concerns about board transparency, vendor selection, and alcohol-related discipline. The council voted to hold the ordinance on first reading for two weeks, requesting a detailed presentation on governance and disciplinary procedures.
  • New Business – Damage Claims Ordinance (C4): Councilmember Berna presented an ordinance to allow claims exceeding $100,000 to be paid with unanimous consent of the council after a professional adjuster's assessment. Discussion centered on the three-day lodging limit currently in code. Councilmembers Stafford and Moore proposed tying the lodging limit to federal OPM per diem rates. The council voted to hold the ordinance on first reading for two weeks, pending amendments from the Ordinance Review Committee.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved.
  • Vacation of utility easement (C1) approved unanimously.
  • Rezoning (C2) approved unanimously.
  • CCR ordinance held on first reading (amendment adopted; final vote pending in two weeks).
  • Farmers Market ordinance (C3) held on first reading; market to provide additional information at next meeting.
  • Damage claims ordinance (C4) held on first reading; Ordinance Review Committee to amend lodging limits.
  • Announcements: Applications for the Fayetteville Youth Advisory Council are due April 17, 2026; vacancies for board committees and commissions are due April 24, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, good good evening, everyone. I would now like to call the April 7th meeting of the Fayetteville City Council to order. Clerk Paxton, will you please call the roll? Dr. Jones. Here. Ms. Moore? Here. Mr. Wheedaker. Here. Mr. Barna. Here. Ms. Bunch. Ms. Tark? Here. Minister Jones. Mr. Stafford. Here. Mayor Ron. Please join me for the states of the mayor. Okay. Very first things first. We have our city council presentations and reports. The first one will be our monthly financial report from our chief financial officer. The housing needs and assessment report has been delayed for two weeks in order for us to capture some data that we are waiting on from one of our partner organizations. So we will hear that presentation in two weeks from Marley Stark. But for tonight, Stephen Dodson has our sales tax and financial report. Stephen, please go ahead. Thank you, Mayor. This is the January sales tax report. In January, we saw taxable sales in the city totaling approximately 260 million, which was an increase of nearly 5.1% or 12.6 million compared to January of 2025. Retail trade was up 3% year over year, representing an increase of $3.8 million. In this category, we saw accommodation and food services were up 4% or roughly $1.2 million. We noted the transportation and warehousing was up $2.6 million year over year. And uh rebates in January of 2026 in the construction sector were $2.77 million. And in the educational services sector were $4.4 million. And those rebates were actually half of what we had experienced in 2025. So we're now seeing the other side of the coin as far as the rebates go. Some months we we note those effects, and other months those drop off. Moving on to the actual tax collection results in January of 2026 compared to 2025. The City 1 penny was up 5% or approximately 122,000. The county portion of the city was up 2.1% or 41,000, resulting in a total combined sales tax collection increase of 3.73%, or approximately 164,000 compared to January of 2025. And looking at the tax revenues compared to uh what was actually budgeted, in January of 2026, the City 1 penny was up approximately 2% or roughly $50,000 compared to budget. The county portion that was down around 0.87% or down roughly 17,000 for a combined total uh for the month of January up 0.7 percent compared to budget or approximately 32,000.

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