State bill to fund local roads

[swake]

Here is simply a great idea for state surplus money going to help local cities and towns across the state. This is a far better idea than some tiny tax rebate again. I urge you to all write your state reps and senators to back this Republican proposal:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18947509&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574067&rfi=6

In what is called "the big, bold plan," Glenpool city manager Ed Tinker and other area leaders are hoping to get Oklahoma roads repaired without raising taxes on the public.

The proposal that would help cities and towns in Oklahoma repair and maintain roads and bridges is in the planning stages and should see fruition in the next year.
The main players in the proposed legislation are Tinker, Mannford city administrator Mike Nunneley, State Rep. Fred Jordan (R-Jenks) and Broken Arrow's director of intergovernmental relations Terry Cleveland in combination with the Oklahoma Municipal League. The new legislation would bring half a cent of the existing 4.5 cent state sales tax back to the cities and towns of Oklahoma.
Currently, Glenpool's sales tax is 9.51 cents on each dollar with 4.5 cents of this going to the state. The plan would return one half cent of this tax back to Glenpool. As it is proposed, the money could not be used for any other purpose other than roads and bridges within the city limits.
Nunneley, Tinker, Jordan, Cleveland, several legislators and the Oklahoma Municipal League are working to draft the legislation, have it written by a member of the legislature and brought before the house and senate for a vote in the next year.
While state revenues have soared, only one percent is shared with cities and towns. This leaves cities and small towns providing local services on their own.
"It is a bold plan but it is a good plan for everyone. If the people get behind this and let their legislators know they back a plan to help the communities without any new taxes, we can get this passed. This plan will bring much needed money back to our town for use to rebuild our infrastructure without hurting the state." said Nunneley.

[TheArtist]

Sounds good to me. But what do I know, everything that sounds good to me seems to have a fatal flaw in it somewhere lol. Sooo what is wrong with this idea? I am sure someone will tell us.

[dsjeffries]

I LIKE this idea! ... A lot!  It's how it should be, anyway... but I'm wondering now how the money will be apportioned--I'd HOPE that it's based on the town's sales tax collections.

Off to write letters [^]

[sgrizzle]

Sounds like it's off the individuals town's tax collections. Theoretically that would be like $50M a year for Tulsa Metro.

[YoungTulsan]

Wow, thats pretty much exactly what I was clamoring for after we rejected the river tax.  I'd like to see a whole cent or more returned, but this is very substancial.  And it even restricts by law the funds to be used on roads, so the City of Tulsa can't patch up other budget problems with the road money (in theory).

Watch it not pass because OKC and rural areas won't like it.

[Conan71]

No bull.  They are saying $.005 back to the city(s) for road improvements?  Sounds like what I've been preaching for a very long time.  Now all they need to do is add another .005 and I'll begin to think they are finally listening to me down in OKC.  Totally un-Republican of me, but they are more than welcome to keep the personal income tax cut they approved last spring as well.

9.51% sales tax in Glenpool and people are wondering why they didn't support the river tax?!?  That's so obvious, it doesn't even warrant a "pancakes".

[blindnil]

The World addresses that along with the city's road funding in Sunday's paper.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071028_1_A21_spanc58228

[pmcalk]

Does anyone know what the state sales tax is suppose to fund?   Is there someway to find out where the state uses all that sales tax?

[Conan71]

Try the OTC web site.

[YoungTulsan]

They can do half a cent just on current surpluses.  Imagine if they gave income tax just a slight bump?  Imagine if Oklahoma had a tax bracket over $10,000 (which I guess is super-rich in Oklahoma)?  Imagine if they cut back spending in some areas?  They could easily relinquish 1.5 cents of state sales tax or more if they tried.  Tulsa needs the 0.5 cents just for upkeep AFTER we replace cheaply built roads with something more maintainable.  We also need about another 0.5 cents for the general fund to hire police, operate parks, keep lights on, and upgrade city hall's plasma TVs from 52"s to 60"s (joking on this hopefully) - And we could really use 0.5 cents for economic development opportunities like Pearl, Brady, Crow Creek, Arkansas River, Cherry Creek, Red Fork, North Tulsa, East Tulsa, 61st & Peoria, you know, if we could afford it.

With Oklahoma's current budget surplus situation, attacking the state sales tax should be TOP priority.  Not JUST for roads, but for all of the services and functions of local government.  The state sales tax chokes the life out of communities around the state that would like to be able to spend some of their own money on their own best interests.

[pfox]

it would bring 35 million to the City of Tulsa, which is great, except we are 600-700 million away from getting a "C" grade on our roads. Just a "C".

[YoungTulsan]

quote:Originally posted by pfox

it would bring 35 million to the City of Tulsa, which is great, except we are 600-700 million away from getting a "C" grade on our roads. Just a "C".

Thats why we would need to pass some sort of solution (bond issue?) to "catch up", hopefully rebuilding unsustainable cheap construction with something smarter that can be kept up to last a long time.  Then use the 35 million per year to keep up what we've built.