Campaign for passage of bond and sales tax proposals launched

A significant portion of the funds from the general obligation bond and sales tax proposals will address the condition of Oklahoma City's streets – consistently one of the top concerns of residents.

A coalition of Oklahoma City civic organizations announced the formation of a campaign to promote the passage of the City’s general obligation bond and sales tax proposals being considered by voters on Sept. 12. Organized as the “Citizens for a Better OKC,” the group plans to share the benefits of the proposals with voters. The effort is being co-chaired by current Mayor Mick Cornett and former Mayor Ron Norick.

“When I travel around the country and talk about our city’s success, I most frequently point to two things – our willingness to invest in our infrastructure and build the city we want, and to our willingness to work together to do just that,” Cornett said. “This campaign represents both of those vital components.”

The Sept. 12 election will allow Oklahoma City’s residents to invest in a safer, better Oklahoma City by approving a general bond program and two sales tax issues. By voting yes, residents will:

• Invest $847 million in rebuilding and improving Oklahoma City’s streets – the top concern of residents. Repairs include replacing bridges, resurfacing streets, building sidewalks, improving drainage, adding bike lanes and more.
• Hire more police officers and firefighters to keep Oklahoma City residents safe.
• Improving life in Oklahoma City by investing in parks, police and fire stations, libraries, transit systems, community and economic development, and more.

The ballot will include a 10-year, $967 million general obligation bond package, a permanent quarter-cent sales tax proposal generating $26 million a year for hiring more police officers and firefighters, and a temporary penny sales tax extension raising $240 million for street improvements – 15 ballot items in all. When combined, the bond and sales tax items will direct $1.2 billion toward Oklahoma City’s most pressing needs, including road improvements and increased public safety funding. Property taxes will not increase, and when both sales tax proposals are approved by voters, Oklahoma City’s total sales tax will be at the rate of 8.625 percent, lower than the state average of 8.86 percent.

Improving Oklahoma City’s streets and continuing to invest in safety are consistently among the top concerns of residents, and both are investments that will improve every corner of the community. In the City’s most recent resident satisfaction survey, the top concern remained the quality of Oklahoma City’s streets. Only 9 percent of residents said that they were satisfied with Oklahoma City’s streets, and TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, ranked Oklahoma City’s streets as the eighth worst in the nation among cities with more than 500,000 people. As Oklahoma City continues to grow and welcome new residents, it is important that the City continues to invest in critical infrastructure improvements.

For this reason, a majority of the bond funds, around $607 million, are dedicated to repairing Oklahoma City’s streets and bridges, building sidewalks, improving drainage and making other street enhancements. When combined with the temporary sales tax extension, an estimated $847 million will be invested in street improvements.

The permanent quarter-cent sales tax will also meet Oklahoma City’s need for more police officers and firefighters protecting residents. The funds generated each year will hire 129 police officers and 57 firefighters.

Mayor Norick spoke to how important the campaign is to the Oklahoma City community. “We have made such progress in the last 25 years, and we need to keep that momentum to maintain and improve this city. Surveys of city residents and business owners both show the demand for better streets and infrastructure improvements. These projects are important to economic development and to citizens’ quality of life.”

The organizations joining the campaign coalition represent a wide variety of community interests. As of July 26, the campaign coalition includes: AAA Oklahoma, Association of Oklahoma General Contractors, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Neighborhood Alliance, North OKC Soccer Club, OKC Firefighters Association - IAFF Local 157, OKC Public Tennis LLC, Oklahoma City All-Sports, Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, Oklahoma Municipal Contractors Association, Oklahoma Transit Association, South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and USA Softball.

This article originally appeared in the August 2017 issue of The POINT!