Damascus CCC Camp, Co. No. 3781 Historic District · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Damascus run?
Damascus’ town government spent $403,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $1,049 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Damascus didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Damascus is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $1,049 per resident a year, or $2.87 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 40%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Damascus didn’t report all of its 2023 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Damascus yet
Every year of Damascus’ figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town reported none of its dollars for 2022–2023. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $533 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.32% of the home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Damascus’ rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Damascus’ Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Damascus →
Who’s in charge in Damascus
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 192 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (384).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
South Side-Bee Branch School District
Damascus’ K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $18,520 per pupil, $10,291 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Arkansas districts overall: 16% local, 70% state, 14% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Damascus’ votes are counted by county
Arkansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Damascus alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Van Buren County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican79.0%6,023 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat18.9%1,437 votesOthers: 2.1% (161 votes).
Most votes in Van Buren County: Donald J Trump
Arkansas: Trump 64.2%, Harris 33.6%
65% of Damascus lies in Van Buren County; the rest in Faulkner County. Every 2024 race in Van Buren County is on the county’s page.
Van Buren County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Damascus.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Arkansas HouseState representatives
- 3Arkansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Arkansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Damascus’ government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Damascus’ government
How much does Damascus spend per resident?
About $1,049 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, a Census Bureau estimate (Damascus didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $1.4 million.
What is the property tax rate in Damascus?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $533 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.32% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Damascus’ government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Damascus yet.
How did Damascus vote in 2024?
Arkansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Damascus alone. Van Buren County, where 65% of Damascus lies, voted Trump 79.0%, Harris 18.9% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Damascus?
2 full-time and 11 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $13,784 (about $165,408 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Damascus in the state legislature?
State Senate District 24 (Missy Irvin) and State House District 42 (Stephen Meeks). The House district also covers seven other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Damascus’ government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Damascus, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →