On the council
A and P Commission
Helped establish Benton's Advertising and Promotions Commission.
Greg White for Alderman · Ward 1, Position 1 · Benton, Arkansas
Take the tax off groceries.
Benton families pay city sales tax on food every week. I want to take it off, fix the drainage and streets we keep putting off in Ward 1, and get curbside recycling done. I served as your alderman once. I know how to get it on the agenda.
Official ballot
Tuesday
November 3, 2026
City Council · Ward 1, Position 1
Greg White
The smart relief plan
Two ways to save you money.
One is worth a lot more.
There is a real choice in front of Benton right now, and it comes down to arithmetic.
One proposal on the table
Cut the county library budget
- Library budget-33%
- Who it helpsProperty owners
- How often you see itOnce a year
Greg's plan
End Benton's city sales tax on groceries
- Tax on your groceries today2.5%
- Who it helpsEvery household
- How often you see itEvery week
- Library fundingUntouched
Here is something most people in Benton do not know. Arkansas took its own tax off groceries this past January. Saline County's rate is zero. So every penny of sales tax you pay on food in Benton is Benton city tax. All 2.5 percent of it.
That is not a shared problem with the state or the county anymore. It is ours, and the city council is the room where it gets fixed.
I support lowering what Benton families pay. I just think we should do the version that is worth several times more. Cutting the library budget helps people who own property. Taking the tax off groceries helps every household in this town, including the renters and the seniors who do not own property at all, and it comes back to you at the register every week instead of once a year.
Benton's sales tax pays for real things, and I am not interested in blowing a hole in the street, water, and sewer budget. My position is that the city can protect that funding and still take the tax off food, and that Benton voters, not just seven people on a council, should get to decide it.
Benton city rate of 2.5% and Saline County rate of 0% per the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates table, July to September 2026. The state's remaining 0.125% tax on food ended January 1, 2026 under Act 1008 of 2025. Library figures are as stated in the county proposal under discussion. Household savings are an estimate based on USDA food-at-home cost figures and vary with what a household spends.
The platform
What I am running on.
Smart tax relief
Take Benton's city sales tax off groceries. It is the one tax every household in this city pays, every week, and it is the one worth going after first. Libraries stay funded.
2.5%
of every grocery bill in Benton is city sales tax. None of it is the state's, and none of it is the county's
The grocery tax plan
Drainage and streets
I chaired the Drainage Committee that rewrote Benton's storm water regulations. The problems that have shown up since need the same treatment.
Drainage and streetsCurbside recycling
Benton should have citywide curbside recycling. It should not arrive by putting the independent haulers who already serve this town out of business.
RecyclingI have done this job
Alderman, 2006 to 2010. Helped establish the A and P Commission. Worked on Riverside Park. Led the Drainage Committee. Lifetime resident, Eagle Scout at fifteen, Benton High Class of 1977.
My record2006 to 2010
I have sat in this seat before.
Four years on the Benton City Council. Here is what came out of it.
On the council
Riverside Park
Contributed to the planning and development of the park.
Committee chair
Drainage Committee
Led the committee that overhauled the city's storm water regulations.
Advocated for
Curbside recycling
Pushed for a citywide recycling solution. It is still overdue.
Advocated for
Utility rates
Pushed for rate reductions, and for balanced commercial development instead of whatever showed up.
Fiscal accountability, transparent governance, and city services that answer the phone. That was the job then and it is the job now.
About Greg
I have lived in Benton my whole life.
I grew up here. I was class president at Benton High, Class of 1977, and I made Eagle Scout at fifteen. I have an MBA and a bachelor's in liberal arts, and I spent thirty-five years in sales and management, twenty-five of them as a digital media sales executive and a web developer.
I served four years on this council, from 2006 to 2010. Then I went back to work, traveling six states as a digital sales executive. I am retired now, which means I have the time this job actually takes.
Benton is more than just where I live. It is where my roots are.
How to vote
Three things, and one has a deadline.
Check that you are registered
Registration for the November election closes in early October. It takes two minutes to check.
Vote early, or vote November 3
Early voting runs for about two weeks before election day. Confirm the dates and locations with the Saline County Clerk.
I go to work
Groceries, drainage, streets, recycling. In that order.
Registration closes
Early October
Early voting
Mid to late October
Election day
Tuesday, November 3
Get involved
A yard sign does more than you think.
City council races are decided by a few hundred people. A sign in your yard tells your neighbors that somebody they know is paying attention to this race, and that moves more votes than anything I can buy.
Tell me what part of Ward 1 you are in and I will bring one by myself.
(501) 317-6297What can I put you down for?
Questions I get at the door
Straight answers.
What office is Greg White running for?
City Council for the City of Benton, Ward 1, Position 1. The election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Has Greg served on the city council before?
He has. Greg was alderman for the City of Benton, Ward 1, Position 2, from 2006 to 2010.
What is the smart tax relief plan?
Greg wants Benton to take its city sales tax off groceries. It is the tax every household in this city pays every week, so taking it off puts money back in the pockets of working families, renters, and seniors right at the checkout lane.
Did not Arkansas already get rid of the grocery tax?
The state did, on January 1 of this year, and Saline County does not charge one either. Benton city sales tax of 2.5 percent is still there. So every cent of sales tax you pay on food in Benton right now is city tax. Arkansas does not let a city exempt one category on its own, so removing it means either a rate question put to Benton voters or authority from the General Assembly. Greg intends to explore both.
Does this plan cut the library?
No, and that is the whole point of it. There is a proposal to cut the local library budget to return about thirty dollars a year to the average homeowner. Greg would rather take the tax off groceries, which is worth several times more to a family, and keep our community resources strong.
What would Greg do about drainage and streets in Ward 1?
Greg led the Drainage Committee that overhauled Benton storm water regulations when he was on the council. He wants to use that same experience on the new storm water problems that have come up since, and get Ward 1 street repairs moving.
Where does Greg stand on recycling?
He wants a citywide curbside recycling solution for Benton, and he wants it done without putting the independent local haulers who already work here out of business.
How do I find out whether I live in Ward 1?
The City of Benton publishes an official ward map, and we link to it on our Ward 1 page. If you are still not sure after looking, give Greg a call and he will help you work it out.
Benton is my home. I am asking for your vote to help make our city cleaner, safer, and less expensive to live in.
Greg White