Many of those folks either probably don't vote (thus their lack of understanding of the processes) or won't take the time/won't remember to do so. If it were worth their time to actually go vote it would be equally worth their time to have a fundamental understanding of the way cities fund these kinds of programs.

I dunno. I haven't seen the posts in question (though I've seen equally depressing posts about civic-related issues on Facebook posts, etc), but I feel like people tuned in on Nextdoor are at least somewhat more engaged and therefore likely to vote. :shrug:

13887

This is pretty indicative. There's a poor understanding on what is the responsibility of the city govt, the responsibility of the state govt, and what the purpose of the GO Bond is. To say trust is low is an understatement.

Also people latched onto the "no raising taxes" claim and countered with the permanent 1/4 cent sales tax increase.

Edit: not sure if the image attached properly. Let me know if there's a better way to upload it.

Appears to not be attached correctly

At one of the public meetings for the GO bond I asked what happened to the expensive light timing software we bought and two things were pointed out to me...

1) The city-wide wifi implemented for law enforcement is gone (they went to a Verizon solution) so there's no network infrastructure to use
2) The person championing that effort moved to a different department

The person that really started IT innovation at the City left around 2007, I think. He went to the private sector...

I dunno. I haven't seen the posts in question (though I've seen equally depressing posts about civic-related issues on Facebook posts, etc), but I feel like people tuned in on Nextdoor are at least somewhat more engaged and therefore likely to vote. :shrug:

I felt that NextDoor was was that way in the beginning, but it's devolved into complaint-central over the past 12-18 months. I no longer find it too useful, so for GO Bond and sales tax purposes, I take it less seriously.

I saw the nextdoor posts where people were mixing up the responsibility of state government vs city government. Some were stating that because of the recent state budget why should they vote for the bond. I was going post about the difference between the two governments and how the city has not part in the state government budget and such, but I figured I just to better leave it alone.

Not intending to derail from the road discussion, but is the GoBond package the vehicle for funding our improvements to the ASA Softball stadium for the WCWS? I remember reading from a while back that the next phase of major upgrades promised were going to be part of a bond election sometime in late 2017, and I wasn't sure if those were part of this package. This is A Big Deal for OKC and we surely need to make sure it gets funded...

New, improvements & renovations will add to the badly needed streets, sidewalks, bridges & infrastructure. Includes many of the original MAPS projects that will need to be upgraded since the 1993 original initiative to elevate OKC to big league city status.

The Hall of Fame Stadium complex will be expanded & renovated to keep the tournament here until 2035 [see PROPOSITION NO. 5. (PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES) B. 4.].

PROPOSITION NO. 1 (STREETS) - $490,560,000
PROPOSITION NO. 2 (BRIDGES) - $26,795,000
PROPOSITION NO. 3 (TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM) - $27,585,000
PROPOSITION NO. 4 (DRAINAGE CONTROL SYSTEM) - $62,170,000
PROPOSITION NO. 5 (PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES) - $137,720,000


8. Bricktown Ball Park - $4,625,000
B. New Parks, Parklands and Recreational Facilities
4. Lincoln Park- Softball Hall of Fame Stadium improvements - $27,500,000

PROPOSITION NO. 7 (DOWNTOWN CITY ARENA) - $8,865,000
PROPOSITION NO. 8 (CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX) - $20,185,000
PROPOSITION NO. 10 (TRANSIT) - $20,395,000
PROPOSITION NO. 11 (ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT) - $60,000,000
PROPOSITION NO. 12 (FIRE) - $45,350,00
PROPOSITION NO. 13 (POLICE) - $30,840,000

New, improvements & renovations will add to the badly needed streets, sidewalks, bridges & infrastructure. Includes many of the original MAPS projects that will need to be upgraded since the 1993 original initiative to elevate OKC to big league city status.

The Hall of Fame Stadium complex will be expanded & renovated to keep the tournament here until 2035 [see PROPOSITION NO. 5. (PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES) B. 4.].

PROPOSITION NO. 1 (STREETS) - $490,560,000
PROPOSITION NO. 2 (BRIDGES) - $26,795,000
PROPOSITION NO. 3 (TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM) - $27,585,000
PROPOSITION NO. 4 (DRAINAGE CONTROL SYSTEM) - $62,170,000
PROPOSITION NO. 5 (PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES) - $137,720,000


8. Bricktown Ball Park - $4,625,000
B. New Parks, Parklands and Recreational Facilities
4. Lincoln Park- Softball Hall of Fame Stadium improvements - $27,500,000

PROPOSITION NO. 7 (DOWNTOWN CITY ARENA) - $8,865,000
PROPOSITION NO. 8 (CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX) - $20,185,000
PROPOSITION NO. 10 (TRANSIT) - $20,395,000
PROPOSITION NO. 11 (ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT) - $60,000,000
PROPOSITION NO. 12 (FIRE) - $45,350,00
PROPOSITION NO. 13 (POLICE) - $30,840,000

Just to make sure I understand completely, the two tax questions (permanent 1/4 and temporary 3/4 %) are separate and can be voted on in any combination right?

Personally, I'm very likely voting YES for everything! The only one's I'm not sold on are the economic incentive, as past funds haven't always been good for long term gains (Chesapeake as an example), and the police... maybe... just maybe the police don't need militarized equipment for their job? I could be wrong... Are there any positive outcomes from prior city economic incentive packages?

Yes, would like to see the post and comments but please redact any names before posting.

Thanks.

Here are the comments, please note... some are not made in their entirety, but I took the "thesis" of each comment while trying to eliminate the rambling nonsense as much as possible. Well, that is... if you don't count the majority of comments as rambling nonsense.


So the city leaders and OKC Chamber decided that streets, trails and sidewalks were more important that retaining good teachers.


Nuts.... the only solution they can come up with is making taxes higher. We would be one of the highest taxes in the nation at that point. Even though we are already up there. Doesn't make sense to me as Oklahomans on average make $15 a hour. That is one of the lowest in the nation. They need to stop over spending on crap and alicate the funds to the stuff that helps our residents like teacher pay etc. I have a felling this "temporary" sales tax is going to be like the turnpike "promise" and end up permanent.


Roads are pretty awesome....except our roads continually fall apart and need repair. Now, I don't know if this is because our state uses sub-standard materials or there is some collusion with the DOT to make sure their budget isn't reduced, but it seems our surrounding states can build roads that last longer than a year. It's quite the frustrating conundrum. Again, I like roads and we need some good ones. I think I'd be hard-pressed to vote for several hundred million to simply replace crap with more crap.


The city currently brings in $36 million MONTHLY on sales tax alone. Perhaps the city government should live within its means and prioritize actual "needs" as opposed to "wants."


The Government cant even get ODOT to keep our highways clear of debris. Furthermore, We have a shortage of police presence, and emergency services. I'm tired for paying for this corruption, and I'm sure many others are too. Where is the money going, and why are we about the only state that is in this poor of shape? I have never seen anything like it.


I have to agree with many of the statements made throughout this thread. Many of the roads around our area are indeed in poor condition, and with all of the construction, they will only get worse. I thought the "Lottery" was sold as the "answer" to our school funding problems, what is happening to all of the money that was supposed to bring in?


NAME, you are confused. Bonds are taxes that they collect from taxpayers so that the government can borrow money to pay for future expenses. Maybe the city could spend less on sidewalks, trails in areas no sane person would dare to go or wasting money away on a bricktown only used by a few.
We should vote no on all bonds and all tax increases until the government learns to spend the money appropriately. We also dont need tire drivent street cars. They look like street cars but they are just more unneeded public transit.


OKC Public schools has over 80K illegals in the system. They need to be deported not schooled. Teachers have no performance expectations and dont work the entire year. Until they consolidate school districts and get rid of so many administrators I say vote no at every opportunity.

Thanks for the evening dose of misanthropy. :banghead:

For what it is worth, I pointed out quite a few times what the differences between state and city gov are. I also gave practical examples and refrained from any personal insults. Often, I feel that knowledge is the best defense against ignorance. Thanks to OKCTalk's own Pete for being an amazing example of how to address morons on the internet without attacking them. Let's start a business Pete! We'll coach students on how to address dumb people on the internet! Maybe get a little of that economic incentive flowing towards our wallet's! :p

Thanks for the evening dose of misanthropy. :banghead:

Sad, I know. The best thing we can do is encourage everybody we know to vote YES on all the bonds at least. Encourage the young people you know to register to vote. You would be shocked at how many 30's somethings and younger aren't even registered!

Again, we have to be ambassadors for OKC on these issues.

Examples pw405 cited about the roles of federal, state, city & county governments and their various departments which include ODOT'S (Oklahoma Department of Transportation) to the state; safety (police & fire) as it relates to the city/county & the perspective of how all this intertwines is the message voters need to know.

It's a ball of confusion. Voters get frustrated, eventually this leads to a 'NO' vote because they don't understand. We have to address these issues with patience because of voter empathy & apathy.

Bottom line; this is a PACKAGE (GoBonds), you will not be able to pick & choose what you want vs. what you don't want passed. It's similar to MAPS, all or nothing.

Keep in mind, too, that the people posting on those threads represent a statistically meaningless molecule of the broader voting populace. It's an unfortunate fact that most people don't understand how city governance (over things like streets and bridges) is an entirely different animal than state governance (over things like schools, etc). And we also have to recognize that, amid the confusion, there are people there with legit concerns - folks trying to balance their budgets and just see more taxes as something that takes money out of their pockets. I do think we're seeing the collateral damage of the lottery's failure to live up to promises (whether real or imagined); it has created a stigma attached to anything relating to education funding in this state by virtue of the way it was sold. That a bit of math could readily demonstrate it couldn't possibly generate the revenue that was being tossed around was *really* frustrating - but that's a discussion for different thread.

I do think, however, the real risk right now is a general "anti-whatever-is-going-on-now/government mistrust"
vibe going on that could present an obstacle to GoBond that might not otherwise be there. I'll surely be supporting this.

At one of the public meetings for the GO bond I asked what happened to the expensive light timing software we bought and two things were pointed out to me...

1) The city-wide wifi implemented for law enforcement is gone (they went to a Verizon solution) so there's no network infrastructure to use
2) The person championing that effort moved to a different department

The inability to understand that technology must now be integrated *from the ground up* is a kind of myopia that infects just about every large enterprise I encounter. There is this persistent notion that it can always be bolted on, as an afterthought, or piggy-backed off someone else's interesting project. This is a *classic* example of that. One person championing the idea. Piggyback off police's public wifi. Bolt them together. Convince someone to spend a bunch of $$$ on it with no proper plan, just some ideas. Then when one part goes away, the whole thing fails and a bunch of money has been completely wasted. So frustrating. See it all the time. And the same people in charge make the same kinds of dumb decisions over things they don't understand...lather, rinse, repeat....and we as taxpayers fund it all.

Again, we have to be ambassadors for OKC on these issues.

Examples pw405 cited about the roles of federal, state, city & county governments and their various departments which include ODOT'S (Oklahoma Department of Transportation) to the state; safety (police & fire) as it relates to the city/county & the perspective of how all this intertwines is the message voters need to know.

It's a ball of confusion. Voters get frustrated, eventually this leads to a 'NO' vote because they don't understand. We have to address these issues with patience because of voter empathy & apathy.

Bottom line; this is a PACKAGE (GoBonds), you will not be able to pick & choose what you want vs. what you don't want passed. It's similar to MAPS, all or nothing.

I see, so the sales tax questions are separate aren't they?

I see, so the sales tax questions are separate aren't they?

Yes, they are a separate package from the Go-Bonds.

Talked with my councilman and 150th is being added to the sales tax vote. So there is potential hope to get that street taken care of

Talked with my councilman and 150th is being added to the sales tax vote. So there is potential hope to get that street taken care of

Specific street projects are not listed on the sales tax vote like they are on the GO Bond Streets Package. Which councilman did you speak with?

I saw a news article mentioning they had the potential to add another $200MM to this package to give OKC "Some of the best roads in the nation". Anybody aware of the details?

We have mapped and published the 2017 Bond Program list to data.okc.gov (https://data.okc.gov/portal/page/catalog#GO_Bond_Projects_(2017)). You can filter by proposition or view all projects on a map. You can also take a look at the 2007 Bond Projects here (https://data.okc.gov/portal/page/catalog#GO_Bond_Projects_(2007)).

Vote Sept. 12: Bond and Sales Tax Election (https://okc.gov/residents/bond-and-sales-tax-election)

That is very informative.

Zach, how are neighborhoods chosen for residential resurfacing projects? My neighborhood's asphalt streets are getting pretty ratty and some new pavement would be wonderful.

Zach, how are neighborhoods chosen for residential resurfacing projects? My neighborhood's asphalt streets are getting pretty ratty and some new pavement would be wonderful.


Zach, how are neighborhoods chosen for residential resurfacing projects? My neighborhood's asphalt streets are getting pretty ratty and some new pavement would be wonderful.

Baralheia, as far as the bond program City staff used many tools and data to come up with the final list. To listen to needs across the city we held a series of eight public workshops in each Council ward, partnered with Neighborhood Alliance to connect with neighborhoods, opened multiple online surveys, allowed users to submit ideas through our mobile app and reached out on social media. Keep in mind the final bond list had to be cut off somewhere. There are many other needs that didn't make the cut. The temporary, 27-month continuation of the expiring MAPS 3 penny sales tax would expand the list and generate $240 million for street resurfacing, streetscapes, trails, sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure.

Also, one of the main tools Public Works uses to prioritize resurfacing is our Pavement Condition Index (PCI), which rates the condition of our streets. Here's a link to an example of the PCI map. (http://okc.gov/Home/ShowImage?id=8655&t=636355330777071374)

To alert us of a need in your neighborhood you can send a request to the Action Center. You can text, email, tweet, call, fax (https://okc.gov/residents/action-center)...whichever you prefer.

I'm also happy to put you in contact with someone in Public Works if you'd like. You can email me here (mailto:zach.nash@okc.gov).

"Best roads in the Nation"? Then we need to pave them in gold!!! LOL. Seriously, as I mentioned prior, OKC, do it right the first time. Pave the streets in "concrete" not asphalt! Lasts way longer and you do not have to go back in a year or two and plug the pot holes! Residents in OKC should demand them, however you will have to pay the cost!

]]"Best roads in the Nation"? [/B][/B]Then we need to pave them in gold!!! LOL. Seriously, as I mentioned prior, OKC, do it right the first time. Pave the streets in "concrete" not asphalt! Lasts way longer and you do not have to go back in a year or two and plug the pot holes! Residents in OKC should demand them, however you will have to pay the cost!

Once again, taken out of context, whereas what was really said was - 'add another $200MM to this package to give OKC "Some of the best roads in the nation". '

"Best roads in the Nation"? Then we need to pave them in gold!!! LOL. Seriously, as I mentioned prior, OKC, do it right the first time. Pave the streets in "concrete" not asphalt! Lasts way longer and you do not have to go back in a year or two and plug the pot holes! Residents in OKC should demand them, however you will have to pay the cost!
Completely agree. That and the fact that more landscaping, divides medians, sidewalks, and more aesthetic features need to be emphasized rather than just rebuilding them with asphalt in the same 4 lane/undivided configuration they are now.

converting a road to concrete from asphalt is not as simple as an overlay. I do agree though, we need more concrete roads

I understand that. My point was I'm not too excited that OKC is replacing these roads by just resurfacing them in the same configuration with asphalt.

I'm also not too pleased with the lack of widenings(May, Memorial, Western, and Penn need to be six lanes in a lot of areas) and the lack of mass transit projects.

I'm not a fan of this bond package even though there are some good projects in there.

I understand that. My point was I'm not too excited that OKC is replacing these roads by just resurfacing them in the same configuration with asphalt.

I'm also not too pleased with the lack of widenings(May, Memorial, Western, and Penn need to be six lanes in a lot of areas) and the lack of mass transit projects.

I'm not a fan of this bond package even though there are some good projects in there.

Back in the early 1990's, OKC 'rebuilt' the Northwest Expressway from Penn avenue all the way to Rockwell, or there about.

I worked along that stretch and they literally dug down almost 2 feet and filled it with asphalt, and added some kind of moisture barrier between layers of the asphalt. That road to my knowledge was not touched at least through 2008, and still may not have been as of today. It was in great shape when I left the area in 2008. I feel like they did this one right when putting asphalt down.

I saw some of the details yesterday. There are 13 issues and I liked that they are planning to widen some roads, replace damaged roads, add traffic control, invest more in parks, continue to add sidewalks. I am all for it.

We're going to pay in one or two ways; renew the bonds & the sales tax or pay in repairs to your automobile by replacing tires, brake pads & shocks as a result of these bad roads--pick your poison.

Had to replace a tire because of the road hazards on one of my vehicles.

Let's enjoy a smooth ride & a beautiful city of which we can all be proud. PASS THESE INITIATIVES.

Will it take them 15 years to complete the projects? Pencil me in as a solid NO vote on the "MAPS for Cops and Roads" initiative.

I am a YES vote on GO Bond and a NO vote on next MAPS most likely.

The upcoming theme of this election says it all:

http://www.betterokc.com/Websites/saferstreetsbetterokc/files/Content/6072769/Safer_Streets_Better_OKC_final_logo-square.png
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFCiYvqXoAEcZ9q.jpg

Oklahoma City will need to maintain & expand services throughout our city as growth continues into 2020. You want a safer city--Police/Fire(?); then extend the MAPS 1/4 cent permanent tax to provide these services to keep up with our anticipated growth. We thought enough of our Zoo to provide 1/8 cent permanent capital funding, let's do better--1/4 for those who put their lives on the line (our police & fire). The next call to 911 may be made by you; you want better response times--let's support our Police & Fire Departments-- additional seconds in response times can save lives...


1. A 10-year, $967 million bond package to invest in streets, police and fire facilities, parks and other basic needs. The bond package would succeed the almost-complete 2007 bond program.

2. A temporary, 27-month continuation of the expiring MAPS 3 penny sales tax to fund $240 million for street resurfacing, streetscapes, trails, sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure.

3. A permanent ¼ cent sales tax to fund $26 million annually in police services, fire protection and other critical services.

At our current rate of growth (2020) OKC's central city population will exceed 675,000 (current 638,367) inside the corporate city limits and the metropolitan area should slightly eclipse 1.5 million (current 1,373,211). The travel & traffic into OKC from our neighboring cities that continue to grow:


2020
North: Edmond (100,000), Guthrie (12,000)
South: Moore (65,000), Norman (130,000)
East: Del City (25,000), Midwest City (60,000), Shawnee (33,000)
West: Bethany (21,000), Yukon (30,000), El Reno (20,000)

...will constitute a need for these additional services.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/35289593343_11f43a5bfd_b.jpg
Drone_View2-0195 by Tony Gaeddert, on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaeddert/35289593343/ Check out these points of interest in OKC, an amazing site--GET SIGNED UP!

Our growth boom urban & metro will begin around 2018-20. We need to fund safety (Police & Fire), have the personnel in place to handle our accelerated growth for this period.

The 1/4 cent sales tax that will become permanent to fund these operations that will barely sustain our safety needs.

Excuse my civic ignorance, but with so many things being voted on on Tuesday, I'm confused as to what the difference between the bond and the 3/4 cent tax increase. I know they're funded differently and all that, but are they set to accomplish the same things (updating existing roads and building sidewalks, trails) or do they differ? Was the bond not enough to cover all desired projects, or is this just an extension to complete the originally-scheduled MAPS road/sidewalk projects?

IMO the non-bond initiatives are poorly titled, presumably to avoid association with MAPS. I like not having that association, but suspect it might backfire for the proponents.

141221412314124

First one is maps-ish ballot, second two are bond issues.

I'm really, really hoping all of this passes! Don't forget to tell ALL your friends/neighbors/whatever so they can be sure to vote! I wouldn't be too sad if the police question doesn't pass, but I still want it to.

The city has posted a useful guide: https://twitter.com/cityofokc/status/905599957138329602

The city has posted a useful guide: https://twitter.com/cityofokc/status/905599957138329602

Here is a link to the higher resolution PDFs: https://okc.gov/home/showdocument?id=9396

I am confused about the third page of the PDFs with the two sales tax items. When I look up the sample ballot for the election at https://services.okelections.us/VoterSearch.aspx I only see the first two pages with the bond items.

I live in the city and would have expected to be in a location that voted on the sales tax too. Are we actually having the vote on that next Tuesday?

I don't remember if the topic was just public safety or public safety and the upcoming elections, but Councilman Pettis is holding a town hall tonight at 6:30 in the Page Woodson Auditorium, at 600 N High Ave. I got a mailer about it so I'm passing along the details from memory - apologies if any of the info is incorrect.

I am confused about the third page of the PDFs with the two sales tax items. When I look up the sample ballot for the election at https://services.okelections.us/VoterSearch.aspx I only see the first two pages with the bond items.

I live in the city and would have expected to be in a location that voted on the sales tax too. Are we actually having the vote on that next Tuesday?

David, this is a problem with the State Election Board's website. It can't display multiple ballots. They are working to fix this issue, but we were told it couldn't be done in time for this special election. You will have two City ballots - one with 13 bond issue propositions and one with the two sales tax initiatives. If you live in Oklahoma County you'll also have another ballot for the sheriff's election.

David, this is a problem with the State Election Board's website. It can't display multiple ballots. They are working to fix this issue, but we were told it couldn't be done in time for this special election. You will have two City ballots - one with 13 bond issue propositions and one with the two sales tax initiatives. If you live in Oklahoma County you'll also have another ballot for the sheriff's election.

Ahh, thanks, that clears it up.

Attended the GO Bond/sales tax town hall last night. (Incidentally, Page Woodson is beautiful. What an incredible job and a great space for the community!) I am now somewhat skeptical that this stuff is actually going to pass. Granted, the people that show up to these sorts of things usually have some sort of bone to pick with city government, but in a 1.5 hour town hall, every questioner was negative on the proposal, it seemed. A lot of "what good did the 2007 GO Bond do any of us?" and "why does the city keep giving out economic development dollars that don't make their way back to the northeast side?" sort of questions. And a lot of applause and murmurs of agreement with these questions. There was also a lot of confusion about the ballot set-up, particularly since the "public safety" sales tax measure doesn't actually mention public safety in the ballot text. I know we need the GO Bond, but I'm worried now.

You should have heard things at the park meeting last night...

Wasn't one of these proposals tied into upgrades for ASA Hall of Fame Stadium (Softball complex)? Not seeing it mentioned in any of the items on the ballots...maybe I just overlooked it.

I'll probably vote yes on all except the 4th bond proposal - no more economic incentives that (a lot of times) end up giving money to companies that were going to expand anyway, or they expand, then the jobs go away or die and the city ends up screwed out of the money.

Jim Couch said in Lackmeyer's chat last week that the titles/wording were unfortunate, but were that way because of ballot requirements/laws about language (similar things happened last year with ballot titles being ruled unlawful/irregular/something like that).

I'll probably vote yes on all except the 4th bond proposal - no more economic incentives that (a lot of times) end up giving money to companies that were going to expand anyway, or they expand, then the jobs go away or die and the city ends up screwed out of the money.

Jim Couch said in Lackmeyer's chat last week that the titles/wording were unfortunate, but were that way because of ballot requirements/laws about language (similar things happened last year with ballot titles being ruled unlawful/irregular/something like that).

We were told the same thing about the ballot language in the meeting last night. I don't blame the City for it but I'm worried about the initiatives' chances of passage.

Also I am with you on voting no on the incentives. Despite all the questions asked in the town hall last night, there was no clear answer from the organizers on what the real benefit of the money would be.

I'm confused. Were they originally talking about increasing the mill levy, but have now decided not to? Bottom line is that I am curious to know if our property taxes will go up if this passes. My husband has heard that they will, and it would be substantial for us. I want to fact-check this assertion.

I'm confused. Were they originally talking about increasing the mill levy, but have now decided not to? Bottom line is that I am curious to know if our property taxes will go up if this passes. My husband has heard that they will, and it would be substantial for us. I want to fact-check this assertion.

This is from an article in this week's Gazette that I read last night, good timing. :)

"City leaders designed the bond as a “no tax rate increase bond” referendum, meaning the 2017 bond program replaces the 2007 bond program. There is no increase to the current property tax."

It also said this:

"Since 1995, Oklahoma City voters have approved all bond propositions proposed by the council, which has contributed to a nearly $1.4 billion impact on infrastructure throughout the city."

This year might end that "winning" streak, though.

I'm confused. Were they originally talking about increasing the mill levy, but have now decided not to? Bottom line is that I am curious to know if our property taxes will go up if this passes. My husband has heard that they will, and it would be substantial for us. I want to fact-check this assertion.

EDIT: I just read the previous post that points out the intent for this package is to be property-tax neutral. Good enough.

The fact that they are paying for the bonds via property taxes necessarily implies they're going to change the millages. Now, in fairness, there may be expiring millages from prior bonds that have been or are close to being paid off that will offset some of the difference, but to the extent there aren't offsetting expiring millages, property taxes for OKC will go up. I think the rough average in OKC - which, unfortunately, varies widely - works out to about .16%, That is, a $100,000 home would yield about $160 in property taxes to the city.


I've not found anything specific on any of the measures about how they will affect the levy, however.

BTW, in an answer to my own question I posted yesterday, it appears Proposition 5 is the one covering upgrades to ASA Softball Hall Of Fame Stadium. I know all the projects have importance to OKC, but this one is an important part of a long-term agreement to expand that stadium and keep the Women's College World Series here in OKC all-but indefinitely.

Thanks, Sooner Dave!

Thanks, Sooner Dave!

The ballots contain the language " to be completed with or without the use of other funds, and levy and collect an annual tax, in addition to all other taxes, upon all the taxable property in said City sufficient to pay the interest on said bonds as it falls due".

What does that mean?

I have not heard and statement on how much taxes would go down if the bonds did not pass. I doubt the city would be giving out this information. I have not had an opportunity to look into it. I will research it tomorrow and post if I come up with anything.

Lots of negative comments on FB as well. Really surprised by this. I'll be voting yes.

I don't know if they're new or if I'm only just noticing them, but I'm seeing signs everywhere that say "Vote NO on New Taxes". All up and down Northwest Expressway, Downtown, you name it. It's kind of infuriating given that none of the proposed ballot issues are 'new' taxes -- unless you want to consider the making of 1/4 of the current MAPS tax permanent a new tax. But ugh. I'd hate to see people blindly vote against this due to a misinformation campaign, and I don't think the wording on the ballot will help clarify these issues to voters who haven't already made up their minds. Groan....

I don't know if they're new or if I'm only just noticing them, but I'm seeing signs everywhere that say "Vote NO on New Taxes". All up and down Northwest Expressway, Downtown, you name it. It's kind of infuriating given that none of the proposed ballot issues are 'new' taxes -- unless you want to consider the making of 1/4 of the current MAPS tax permanent a new tax. But ugh. I'd hate to see people blindly vote against this due to a misinformation campaign, and I don't think the wording on the ballot will help clarify these issues to voters who haven't already made up their minds. Groan....

This is not true. There are 2 votes for taxes.

1. extending the maps cent tax for roads and streets (Not permanent)

And 2. Creating S BRAND NEW 1/4 cent permanent tax increase (which the council has said will go to hiring more police and fire)

I am very much for the first and very against the second as our sales tax is high enough