Talk Business & Politics: Opinion - Federal dollars yield results for Little Rock

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr.

his year, I challenged my team at City Hall to renew its focus and energy on getting even more results for the people of Little Rock. As stewards of taxpayer dollars, it is our obligation to deliver a return on the investment made into municipal services like public safety, infrastructure and economic development.

We are committed to “Results for The Rock” as we breathe new life into Arkansas’s capital city through safer, stronger neighborhoods and excellent quality-of-life amenities.

Make no mistake, we are getting results every single day.

Our job creation numbers are historic and unprecedented. Together with key stakeholders like the Little Rock Regional Chamber, we’ve brought close to 11,000 new jobs to Little Rock and more than $1.8 billion in capital investment to the region since 2020.
We are spending more than $50 million in ward-by-ward upgrades to streets, sidewalks and drainage, funded by your support of capital improvement bonds and by the Biden administration’s Investing in America plan.

We implemented successful crime reduction strategies, leading to consecutive years of declines in violent crime and a 2024 that has seen a 13 percent decline in overall crime. Supported by federal funding for our Real-Time Crime Center and crime prevention programs, our innovative and holistic public safety strategies are working.

Still, there is more work to do.

We recognize that results require revenue and that our aspirations only go as far as our money does. Over the last three years, we achieved transformational results for our residents through funding and support from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

In the state of Arkansas alone, the Investing in America agenda has generated more than $11 billion in public and private investment since 2021. That money has a ripple effect in our communities, which are, in turn, spending those dollars to create results.

Through programs funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, we have met head-on the challenges of a post-Covid economy.

Consider this: Almost exactly four years ago, economic activity stagnated as the pandemic emerged as the most serious threat to public health in more than a century. Offices temporarily shuttered as employees worked remotely from home. Restaurants and businesses closed, and our economy suffered.

Four years later, our economy is thriving again with low unemployment (Arkansas’ unemployment rate is just 3.4 percent). Inflation is under control, and a predicted long-term recession never materialized. We can say with clarity and conviction that we are better off than we were four years ago.

Our results are all around us.

They are at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, where the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act is funding a $69 million investment in taxiway safety improvements. They are at the Port of Little Rock, where we are moving forward with an industrial “supersite” with the help of $6 million in federal money to extend rail lines and add an engine maintenance facility.

With federal dollars, nearly 15,000 households in Little Rock have access to reliable broadband through the Affordable Connectivity Program. Broadband equity is essential for our community and a pillar of my platform as Mayor. In Arkansas, more than $1.7 billion in federal money is being allocated to high-speed Internet access.

The City of Little Rock received $37.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding – money that your city government is already leveraging to improve quality of life across our community.

More than $6 million in street, sidewalk and drainage improvements were directed toward projects like Swaggerty Branch in the South End neighborhood and Lee Street improvements in Hillcrest. ARPA funds are making the much-needed fire station on Highway 10 in west Little Rock a reality. We have allocated ARPA money to construct a Micro Home Village for our unsheltered residents. And ARPA money is being used for our first-ever Downtown Master Plan, a strategic blueprint for a growing, thriving urban core for decades to come.

Indeed, we are reaping results from these historic investments in our city and its residents. With support from the Biden administration, we have made promises and kept those promises.

We must take advantage of these investments by continuing the work and reaping the dividends of these investments. We have leveraged the support from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to get real results. Let us work together to sustain that momentum as we seek ways to achieve even more and better results for Little Rock in the months and years to come.

Editor’s note: Frank Scott, Jr. is the 73rd Mayor of Little Rock. He was first elected in 2018 and is currently serving his second term. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Read the original op-ed here.