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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, MAPS 4 Sales Tax Proposition (December 2019)
| Oklahoma City MAPS 4 Sales Tax Proposition |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| December 10, 2019 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local sales tax Expires in: 8 years |
| Related articles |
| Local sales tax on the ballot December 10, 2019 ballot measures in Oklahoma Oklahoma County, Oklahoma ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
A sales tax measure was on the ballot for Oklahoma City voters in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, on December 10, 2019. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the city to levy a sales tax of 1% for eight years from April 2020 through April 2028 to fund the city's Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) projects, thereby continuing the existing total sales tax rate in the city of 8.625% since the city's existing transportation sales tax was set to expire in April 2020. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing the city to levy a sales tax of 1% for eight years to fund the city's MAPS 4 projects, thereby reducing the total sales tax rate in the city from 8.625% to 7.625% when the city's existing transportation sales tax expires in April 2020. |
Overview
Tax rates
The state sales tax rate in Oklahoma was 4.5% going into the election. The total Oklahoma City sales tax rate was 4.125% going into the election. There were no county-wide or other local sales taxes in Oklahoma City. A 1% sales tax for transportation projects (named the Better Streets, Safer City program) was set to expire in April 2020.[1][2]
The average total sales tax rate (state and local) in Oklahoma was, as of 2019, 8.77%. State law allowed additional local sales taxes of up to 6.5%, making the maximum total sales tax rate in the state 11%.[3]
Revenue and projects
City officials estimated that the tax would raise an estimated $978 million over eight years.[1]
Revenue from the tax was earmarked for the city's MAPS 4 program, consisting of the following allocations:[1]
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Background
The first version of the city’s MAPS program—which was also funded by a 1% sales tax—was approved by voters on December 14, 1993, with the tax expiring on July 1, 1999, after generating about $309 million in revenue. MAPS 2 and MAPS 3 followed, with the MAPS 3 tax expiring in December 2017 and final projects planned for completion in 2022.[5]
Election results
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Oklahoma City Proposition |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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31,882 | 71.71% | ||
| No | 12,579 | 28.29% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[6]
| “ |
SHALL ORDINANCE NO. 26,255 (ORDINANCE) OF THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY (CITY) BE APPROVED? The Ordinance levies a City excise tax of one percent (1%) upon the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from all sales taxable under the sales tax laws of the State of Oklahoma for a limited term of eight (8) years. The Ordinance provides for the sales tax levy to become effective at 12:00 a.m. on April 1, 2020, with the eight-year term expiring at 12:00 a.m. on April 1, 2028. Section 1 of the Ordinance would be codified as Section 52-23.7 in Article II of Chapter 52 of the Oklahoma City Municipal Code, 2010. The sales tax levied by the Ordinance would be cumulative of other City sales tax levies effective as of April 1, 2020. The Ordinance is subject to approval by City voters pursuant to Section 2705 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes.[4] |
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Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Arguments
- OKC Mayor David Holt said, “We have the resources to do all the things that were formally presented this summer, and that’s a great thing because those projects really cover a broad spectrum of needs in our city. I would characterize those as falling into four buckets: neighborhood needs, human needs, quality of life and jobs.”[7]
- Ward 2 OKC Council Member James Cooper said, “I believe we have worked with the different people who have proposed the different projects to address accountability and there will be a citizens advisory board that each council person gets to appoint to oversee those projects. And there will also be subcommittees as well that will be able to hold these projects accountable. I think because of all those things, we will see measurable outcomes.”[7]
Opposition
Arguments
- Carol Hefner, who leads OKC Citizens for Transparency, said, "At nearly one billion dollars this MAPS proposal is too heavy with social bandaids that will require more tax dollars beyond MAPS to sustain. West coast homeless are flooding in at the promises of social programs from our city. The 100 million dollar endowment will throw off only a small percentage each year and cannot sustain the projects. MAPS was initiated in the first place over 20 years ago to improve infrastructure and add to attractiveness of OKC with projects that had revenue stream. It worked in 1 and 2. MAPS 4, like 3, is giving us unsustainable projects that are black holes which cannot generate revenue to stay afloat."[7]
- Ward 5 OKC Council Member David Greenwell said, "Myself, there is no particular project in and of itself that makes me say, ‘OK, if this is successful I’m going to vote for all of the package.’ I want data to help me come to that conclusion, and so far I don’t have it. So I’m in the camp of not supporting MAPS 4 because of that lack of measurable outcomes.”[7]
Path to the ballot
The city council of Oklahoma City approved Ordinance 26255 on September 24, 2019. Ordinance 26255 was designed to take effect only if voters approve this proposition.[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oklahoma City Government, "MAPS 4 special election is Dec. 10," accessed December 5, 2019
- ↑ Sale-tax.com, "Oklahoma City, OK," accessed December 5, 2019
- ↑ Tax-Rates.org, "What is the 2019 Oklahoma Sales Tax Rate?" accessed December 10, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Oklahoma City Government, "MAPS History," accessed December 10, 2019
- ↑ Oklahoma City Government, "December 10 Sample Ballot," accessed December 2, 2019
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 NonDoc, "Before you vote Tuesday, review these MAPS 4 details," December 9, 2019
- ↑ Oklahoma City Government, "Ordinance No. 26255," accessed December 5, 2019
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