Muskogee, Vote YES! Beginning Today

June 4th, 2009

Some Muskogee voters may begin voting today on three sales tax proposals from the City of Muskogee. Others will vote Tuesday, June 9. Please vote and vote YES on all three propositions.

I’ve seen a letter or two in the Muskogee Phoenix about why this tax should not pass. The city has actually done a very good job in the last decades or so about doing what they say they will with the proceeds from sales tax collections. So, the naysayers who are speaking out saying that the city has a bad track record need to check their facts.

The fact is, we need proposition 1 with over 400 miles of surface streets in Muskogee. We gripe about the roads, then gripe about having to pay for them. Well, they’re not free. A sales tax for this makes the most sense because not only residents help pay, so do visitors.

Proposition 2 is not an option. The repairs under consent order are mandatory. We must do them and we must pay for them. We can either spread it out with a sales tax, or boost sewer fees by a good percentage. One figure I heard is approximately $8.00/mo. I don’t know about you, but that’s lunch for me.

Proposition 3 will help with all the things we want to help build a better city, to improve the quality of life. Some of these are matching funds, so for every dollar we spend, we get more than a dollar in matching funds. This is a smart way to manage your tax dollars.

To continue to improve the quality of life, repair streets, and comply with a consent order without raising sewer fees, these propositions need to pass. Vote Yes to all three sales tax propositions.

Vote YES on all three props

The three propositions are essential for Muskogee to continue to provide quality service to its citizens and visitors. Please vote yes at the polls.

Proposition 1 – Permanent 0.25 percent sales tax for street maintenance and installation. This is in addition to the budget that is already in place and helps handle the increase in materials cost.

Proposition 2 – Five year sales tax of 0.32 percent for rehabilitation of sewer main to comply with state consent order. If this fails, sewer customers will see an increase in rates to cover this mandatory repair.

Proposition 3 – Five year sales tax of 0.18 percent for various quality of life projects:

Rotary Park: $300,000
Trail Development Match: $450,000
New truck and expansion of Fire Station 3 for storage of Ladder 1: $1.1 million
New multi-agency training grounds Match: $1 million
Replace electrical system in police station: $250,000
New terminal building at Davis Field: $250,000
Replace six Thunderbolt storm sirens: $108,000
Port Place Road Phase 3 and/or miscellaneous water/sewer line repair/replacement: $1,227,030

Source: Flyer published by City of Muskogee on 5/19/2009