LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Mayor of Little Rock, Frank Scott Jr. announced many things tonight to improve the capital city, and one of those is a second attempt to get voters to approve a sales tax increase.

The specifics have not been shared on how much the sales tax will be or how long it will last.

The last time the Mayor proposed a sales tax, it failed.

“So far it looks like we are moving in the right direction,” Little Rock resident, Whitley Holt said.

Moving forward together is exactly the goal Mayor Frank Scott Jr. expressed in his 2023 State of the City Address.

He discussed things like the new sales tax, called Little Rock FORWARD.

“Little Rock FORWARD will revitalize our premiere public spaces like War Memorial park and Hindman park, expand our footprint at the little rock port to attract more residents, upgrade public safety facilities, technology, and equipment, and improve critical infrastructure for our cities residents,” Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said.

Improvements Little Rock residents said they are looking forward to.

“I would just be excited to see some new additions so the kids can have a little more to do,” and “any improvements would be great,” Holt said.

“I would like more people and lights, so that people can stay late,” Little Rock resident, Amrita Phapurel said.

Another major thing mentioned was crime reduction, after investing $2,000,000 into non-violence programs.

“Our most recent data shows that overall crime is down by 7 percent compared to the previous year, and violent crime is down nearly 13%,” Scott Jr. said.

“It makes me feel like a little safer because those statistics are coming down,” Little Rock resident, Brittany Garner said.

One of the last things he mentioned was the forward growth in job expansion with things like Top Golf coming to the capital city.

“Together, we have announced more than 9,000 jobs since 2019, 739 just last year alone,” Scott Jr. stated.

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said there are a lot of things on the priority list for this year, but he is excited to tackle those together, and move forward to make Little Rock a better city.