Pine Bluff, Arkansas – Pine Bluff Mayor Vivian Flowers has vetoed a city council resolution that would have continued funding and operations for the city’s Urban Renewal Agency (URA), setting the stage for a heated debate over the future of the redevelopment organization. Resolution 4993, which was approved by the Pine Bluff City Council on February 2, would have reallocated $860,000, including funds tied to the delayed and over-budget Go Kart Track project, and allowed the URA to maintain its ongoing operations.
Flowers, however, expressed serious concerns about the resolution, arguing that it poses financial risks for the city and is based on faulty information. “I can say I know that the council did not have good information when they made this decision because the very information in resolution 4993 was completely, almost completely inaccurate,” Flowers said. She stressed that the city cannot responsibly commit more than $800,000 to the Go Kart Track project without proper oversight.
The Urban Renewal Agency was established in 2017 following the passage of a local sales tax, and its mission has been to partner with private entities on redevelopment projects while addressing blight and unsafe structures in Pine Bluff. Despite the agency’s efforts, the city still faces challenges, including over 500 condemned properties. “Their primary role is to focus on blight removal, and demolition, and revitalization. How do you do that with no sustainable funding, no grants, and one employee. You don’t,” Flowers said, highlighting her concern about the agency’s limited capacity to fulfill its mission.
Resolution 4993 outlined that the URA has active federal grants and had secured more than $4 million in private partnership funds, including $1.2 million linked to the Go Kart Track project. The resolution warned that dissolving the agency could jeopardize future funding and partnerships. Flowers, however, disputed those claims, emphasizing that sending additional funds to a troubled project would be financially reckless and could harm the city’s broader redevelopment goals. “I had to veto it. I had to,” she said.
The mayor also called for stronger oversight and transparency if the city chooses to continue funding the URA, noting that a forensic audit is underway to review sales tax funds from 2017. She stressed that accountability is crucial to ensuring that public dollars are spent wisely and in alignment with the city’s strategic redevelopment priorities.
The resolution now returns to the Pine Bluff City Council, where members may attempt to override the mayor’s veto at the upcoming February 17 meeting. Overriding a veto would require a supermajority vote, meaning council members will need broad support to move forward with the funding and operations of the URA despite the mayor’s objections.
As the city grapples with this decision, tensions between the mayor and the council highlight the challenges of balancing redevelopment ambitions with fiscal responsibility. The outcome of the February 17 meeting could shape the future of Pine Bluff’s Urban Renewal Agency and its ability to tackle blight, support private partnerships, and implement revitalization projects across the city. The debate underscores a larger conversation about transparency, accountability, and sustainable funding for municipal redevelopment efforts.
