Nora Harris v. City of Little Rock
Nora Harris v. City of Little Rock was a 1998 lawsuit brought by a tax advocate, Appellant Nora Harris, against the City of Little Rock, challenging the city's raising of revenue bonds to finance the acquisition of land for the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park.
On March 17, 1998 the Little Rock Board of Directors voted to approve $16.5 million in park revenue bonds to purchase land for the presidential center. On April 10, 1998, Empower Arkansas was organized to block the revenue bond issue. In June 1998 Little Rock's Stephens Incorporated began issuing revenue bonds for Library site purchase. In June 2000 the Pulaski County Court concluded that the city had acted appropriately in issuing the bonds.
Between January and March 2001 the State District Court and Arkansas Supreme Court heard arguments that the City of Little Rock illegally issued revenue bonds for the Clinton Presidential Center. On March 8, 2001, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court and rejected Harris' claim. The court did indicate that Harris might have a case if she found that general fund revenue rather than park user fees was being used to pay debt servicing.
On April 23, 2001, Nora Harris filed a second lawsuit to block issuance of the revenue bonds. This time she argued that the bond sale for the parks was not "self-sufficient," meaning that debt payments on the bonds would have to be paid in part out of general fund sources of the Little Rock Department of Parks and Recreation. Debt payments from general revenue budgets is prohibited by Arkansas Constitution Amendment 65 without a general referendum. On October 2, 2002 her lawsuit was dismissed by Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Collins Kilgore.
Harris' attorney in this second lawsuit was David Henry, who requested the dismissal. Said Henry, "Suffice it to say that Mrs. Harris and I have not had good cooperation over the last several months. I felt it was appropriate to ask for a dismissal without prejudice, which gives her a year to find a new attorney and re-file her case." Attorney for the city in the case was Tom Carpenter.
References
- Elizabeth Albanese, "Suit Challenging Bond Issuance for Clinton Library's Park is Dismissed," Bond Buyer, 342 (October 4, 2002): 32.
- Elizabeth Albanese, "Tax Foe Back in Court on Park Bond Issue," Bond Buyer, 340 (May 22, 2002): 4.
