On Tuesday Tulsa residents cast their votes in favor of hundreds of millions of dollars for capital improvements and maintenance in the city.
All three bond propositions on the ballot and an extension of a temporary sales tax were passed with over 60% of the vote.
More than 28,000 Tulsans voted in the election.
For full results, visit the state election board website.
For more information on the Improve Our Tulsa package, read the story from Monday:
If passed, Improve Our Tulsa 3 would put roughly $814 million toward everything from a first-time housing initiative to street widening and even maintenance at the Tulsa Zoo. Public Radio Tulsa has compiled a fact sheet on the package.
To find your polling place, visit oklahoma.gov/elections/ovp.
What’s in the package?
The proposed Improve Our Tulsa package includes:
- $93.8 million for inflation-adjusted costs for previously-approved street projects
- $46 million for street widening
- $79.7 million for Performing Arts Center upgrades including ADA compliance, Chapman Hall renovation and facilities updates
- $47.5 million for a new public safety center to include police headquarters and municipal court space
- $58.5 million to upgrade the fire department vehicle fleet
- $95 million for housing initiatives
Will taxes go up?
If passed, property and sales taxes in Tulsa County will remain the same. The city will use an existing 0.95% of its 3.65% sales tax for the improvement package.
Projects in Improve Our Tulsa 3 will be funded by the sales taxes and mostly-preexisting bonds financed by property taxes. One bond of $42 million was added to the package to address additional requests following citizen feedback at town halls.
What do city officials think about the package?
Other than City Councilor Grant Miller — who has raised concerns that council wasn’t given enough time to review the projects — all councilors support the package. Councilor Christian Bengel has argued there’s “a lot that goes into” the projects, and that residents’ tax dollars would be well-spent.
On Monday, four former Tulsa mayors joined Mayor G.T. Bynum in their support of the package. Former mayor Dewey Bartlett spoke highly of the citizens’ sales tax overview committee, which is tasked with examining how the money is spent in the projects.
