On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the City Council voted on over 30 items. Here are some of the highlights:

2025 City Budget Approved

The City Council voted unanimously to adopt the 2025 budget.

The general operating budget for the city predicts about $88 million in revenue — up 11.3% over the 2024 budget. The increase is driven by growth in local tax revenue, the city’s primary source of income.

“We are experiencing steady growth in both sales tax and property tax revenues, fueled by robust commercial development and rising property values,” Mayor Stephanie Orman wrote in a memo included in budget documents. 

The city expects to spend $83 million on core city services in 2025, which is 4.6% more than the 2024 budget called for. 

This includes $37.5 million on salaries and $15.5 million on benefits, with multiple new positions added and a 3.5% increase to pay rates across the board.

“We are also investing in our staff through salary increases and strategic staffing additions to meet growing demands,” Orman wrote. 

Other key investments for 2025 include road infrastructure improvements, public safety fleet upgrades, and continued enhancements to Parks & Recreation and library facilities, the memo stated.

New Staff Positions To Be Added in 2025

The City Council unanimously approved adding new city positions for 2025, along with some position upgrades and title changes. 

Most of the new positions will be added to the Bentonville Public Library or the Parks & Recreation department. All of the new positions, position upgrades and title changes are included in the 2025 budget.

Business Registry Fees Eliminated

The City Council voted to eliminate its business registration fee and renewal fee, effective immediately. These fees were temporarily suspended in May.

The business registry went live in January 2024, with an initial registration fee of $25 and an annual renewal fee of $15. It was implemented to create a central database of up-to-date details about businesses located in Bentonville, including contact information, business type and employment numbers.

Parks & Recreation Fees Approved

City Council approved the fees for recreation programs, facilities and events for 2025.

Many of the fees remain the same for 2025, including the cost of Bentonville Community Center memberships. Fees were increased for cycling programs, some sports programs and facility rentals. 

A New Plan For Memorial Park 

The city will pay $36,000 to Ecological Design Group for the development of a master plan for Memorial Park. 

Ecological Design Group will provide landscape architecture and civil engineering services to support improvements to the park, focusing on the northern, eastern and southern edges of the park south of John DeShields Boulevard, excluding the existing baseball fields, according to the city. 

The 2024 budget included $365,000 for a playground at Memorial Park. The project was put on hold to take a broader look at the entire space after other opportunities were identified during planning for the playground.

Money For Manholes and Water Department

The City Council approved multiple budget adjustments to move $399,696.54 from Utility Fund Reserves to fund the Bentonville Water Utilities department through the end of the year. 

The adjustments are necessary to “address unforeseen needs and ensure smooth operations” for the remainder of the year, according to a memo in the agenda packet.

The city will also reallocate $450,000 in remaining funds from the SE 14th St. CIPP Sewer Lining Project to increase the budget for manhole repairs.

Bentonville City Council meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, where they pass local laws and ordinances, approve development projects, establish policies and more. The Council typically covers a dozen or more agenda items each meeting, so we try to pick the items we think residents would be most interested in. City Council meetings are open to the public. Find the most recent agendas and minutes here.