City to hold April election for proposed CIP sales tax extension

The City of Guthrie will be asking Guthrie voters in April if they want to extend the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) sales tax for an additional 15 years.

Upon the recommendation of the CIP task force, the city council voted unanimously to allow citizens to ultimately decide with an April 2, 2024, election if the three-quarter of a cent sales tax shall continue past the year 2031.

Voters in 2016 approved a 0.75% sales tax increase on goods purchased or sold in the city limits to fund capital improvements with a 15-year sunset. With the approved proposition, the city sales tax increased to 3.75% (2% to the general fund, 1% to the Guthrie Public Works Authority, and .75% CIP) where it stands today.

In November, the council created a 10-member task force of community members, including one citizen from each council member and three at large, to develop a plan of action for future CIP projects and to find potential funding mechanisms.

One of the goals was to touch each area that the city functions in including emergency services, infrastructure, and quality of life.

The committee found the City needs $61M in water and sewer infrastructure, $45M in roads and bridges, and $20M in ADA accessibility throughout the city (including downtown). Those items did not address a second fire station, quality of life projects, and other critical needs.

The task force identified their top six priorities including waterline and valve replacements, a second fire station in the south portion of the city, sewer line upgrades and replacement, Owen Field expansion and completion, ADA accessibility, and a cost-effective Highland Park pool.

Afterwards, an online survey was conducted by city staff resulting in 600 citizens responding in agreement with the task force.

Citizens said their top priority is waterline and water valve upgrades followed by sewer line upgrades, a second fire station, completion of the sports complex, ADA downtown projects, and a city pool.

The survey asked citizens if they would support a 10-year or 15-year extension of the current CIP Sales Tax, not an increase of the tax, but an extension.

Overwhelmingly, citizens both in and out of the city limits said they would support either a 10-year or a 15-year increase to the current tax. 87.5% of the citizens within city limits and 88% outside the city limits said they would support the 15-year extension.

With an approved extension of the tax, the tax is estimated to gather a million dollars per year ($15M total).

“With an extension of the CIP sales tax not only will this tremendously begin to benefit Guthrie and its infrastructure but at the same time hedge against inflation,” task force member Chris Evans told the council at the Jan. 16 meeting.

He continued, “The task force committee is respectfully recommending, to the council, a 15-year extension on the current CIP sales tax to address critical needs and place this option to all eligible voters within the Guthrie city limits on the April 2nd ballot.”

The council agreed and voted to hold the election.

The council also voted to transition the task force committee to an oversight committee effective April 3, 2024 and shall remain in place for the duration of the levy, with one appointment coming from each council member. The committee member will run concurrently with the councilman’s term.

Now city staff are working on cost estimating for the proposed projects.

“We need to know and be firm that we can complete this project,” Faulkner told the council. “If we are going to seek an extension of any kind we need to be able to look at the voters and say, ‘we can do this project. We have a firm cost. We know that this is what we can design and build and turn over to the community for this amount of money.’”