My fb friends I want to share some information on the new tax plan that will be on the ballot on Nov 12. In commercials and ads for this tax proposals they tell us that our taxes will go down, dont believe this they are deceiving us as usual. Following is the facts on this tax. Please carefully read, and be informed, please vote NO. Largest Tax Hike in Tulsa History: $88,000,000.00 for Gilcrease Expressway August 29, 2013 The Tulsa City Council and Mayor Dewey Bartlett have approved a controversial $918,700,000.00 tax increase that will go before city voters November 12. It would be the largest tax increase in the history of Tulsa. The money for the projects will be borrowed, with at least $500,000.00 in bond costs and an undetermined amount of interest expense. If it passes, the borrowed money will be partly repaid through a 1.1 percent sales tax increase that combines an extension of the Third Penny sales tax and incorporates 0.1-percent of the expired 4 to Fix the County sales tax. The bonds would carry a five-year term. Unlike the last bond vote which was devoted to streets, this proposal has a host of projects, including: $88,000,000.00 for Gilcrease Expressway $37,330,000.00 for police department $34,870,000.00 for city parks $34,600,000.00 for fire department $33,070,000.00 for technology $29,700,000.00 for buses (transit) $27,950,000.00 for bridges $23,400,000.00 for bike/pedestrian routes $23,400,000.00 for “planning and economic development” $12,100,00.00 for traffic engineering $11,760,000.00 for River Parks $11,750,000.00 for Tulsa Zoo $10,900,000.00 for Eugene Field redevelopment $10,000,000.00 for Tulsa City-County Library $9,005,000.00 for Gilcrease Museum $6,050,000.00 for equipment $5,530,000.00 for Performing Arts Center $3,500,000.00 for an animal shelter $3,400,000.00 for levee repairs $3,000,000.00 for street corridor enhancement $550,000.00 for Route 66 Village $500,000.00 for bond costs Councilors dropped controversial proposals for hundreds of thousands of dollars for the BOK Arena and the Civic Center downtown after taxpayers insisted those be self-supporting and when councilors realized inclusion of thos projects jeopardized passage. City officials and some county officials claim this is not a “tax increase” but the Third Penny is a “temporary tax” that will expire and sales tax will drop if voters don’t approve this new tax increase Nov. 12. County Commissioners Karen Keith and Ron Peters along with Sheriff Stanley Glanz were pushing an initiative petition to add a 0.167-percent county sales tax increase on the Nov. 12 ballot but effort has been dropped after city councilors agreed to drop 0.067-percent from the 1.1-percent figure that was approved. Tulsa County would lose an estimated $25,000,000.00 in projected sales tax increases as part of the compromise. Part of that compromise came with the idea that the county would come back with a sales tax increase to fund a new juvenile detention center and expansion of the county jail. Peters and Keith are now hopeful that Tulsa County can propose a sales tax hike in April 2014 that could generate $32,000,000.00 extra over five years. The two projects could cost up to $60,000,000.00. “We lowered our rates at the city in order to preserve county options and better serve the taxpayers,” Mayor Dewey Bartlett said. “This is a positive step forward in addressing the capital needs of both the city and Tulsa County,” said Commissioner Karen Keith. “I believe in this case we did the best and most responsible thing for the citizens of Tulsa and Tulsa County,” said Commissioner Ron Peters. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said, “We’re going to suspend our petition and look to collaborate with the cities in Tulsa County to fund our essential public safety needs including those in the juvenile, criminal and mental health arena.” Glanz has said previously that unlike the previous 4 to Fix the County sales tax, a new sales tax for the juvenile center and the jail expansion would be a permanent tax. Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel, a fiscal conservative, has suggested the county use overage money from the 2003 Vision 2025 county sales to fund those two projects without raising more taxes. Vision 2025 is expected to pay for all of the projects with a projected surplus of $150,000,000.00 by the time of its expiration in 2017. County commissioners may revisit the idea of using Vision 2025 surpluses rather than a new, permanent sales tax. If approved, the new city taxes would pay for the projects and expire in more than six years – if economic conditions in the country remain the same and if city finance officials are correct in their predictions of costs versus revenues.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:20:09 +0000
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