On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Oklahoma City residents will vote on a $2.7 billion bond proposal that Mayor David Holt has described as a list of “needs, not wants.”
This bond proposal is all about infrastructure. Not much of the “sexy” stuff like sports arenas and tourist attractions, not the projects that tug at the heartstrings like animal shelters, not the noble humanitarian efforts to address homelessness and healthcare. Voters overwhelmingly approved those kinds of projects in 2019, and the city has been making good on its promises as those projects have been coming to life over the last few years.
The bond proposal presented to voters on Tuesday would pay for a lot of pavement and pipe – very practical concerns. Because having a championship team won’t do this city much good if the streets are crumbling below the wheels of all those visitors coming to see the game.
“The 2025 bond issue continues our city’s longtime practice of dedicating resources to our essential infrastructure, like streets and bridges,” Holt said. “This vote on October 14th is about needs, not wants. Our city has long understood the benefit of investing in ourselves, and this package continues that work, this time for core infrastructure. And it does so without raising the property tax rate. We encourage all voters to come out on October 14th.”
The bond proposal includes $1.35 billion for 382 street projects: 184 arterial resurfacing projects, 133 residential resurfacing projects, 27 street widening projects, 25 sidewalk projects and 13 street enhancement projects.
There’s $140.44 million for 44 drainage control projects, $130 million for seven fire facilities and maintenance projects, and renovations to fire stations citywide.
There’s $129.67 million for Transit and Parking, including a new transit headquarters facility and a new downtown parking garage to replace the Myriad Convention Center parking facility.
EMBARK’s entire transit fleet is up for modernization.
There’s $107.34 million for Police, Municipal Courts and Family Justice Facilities, including enhanced security, tech and training equipment at the new Family Justice Center operated by Palomar.
There’s $90.6 million for 25 bridge projects. Another $52.48 million for libraries and learning centers – which includes an expansion of Ralph Ellison Library in Northeast Oklahoma City, and an expansion for the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center exhibit and archival space.
There’s more. Visit okc.gov/bond25 to see a project map, sample ballot and more explaining what is included in this bond package.
Voting for the bond will not increase property taxes. The city uses sales tax revenue to pay for the basic stuff, like city employees’ salaries, but for big, expensive infrastructure projects like this, the city has to ask its residents to approve a bond package.
In his State of the City address last summer, Holt noted that this bond package could shape Oklahoma City for the next decade. Oklahoma City is one of the biggest cities in the nation as far as land mass, encompassing 620 square miles and almost 9,000 lane miles of road, placing an usually large burden on the city to maintain its infrastructure. Holt noted that you could fit Boston, Anaheim, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Miami, Berkeley, Providence, Newark, St. Paul, Oakland, Buffalo, Tempe, Fort Lauderdale, South Bend and Alexandria, Virginia all within the city limits of Oklahoma City.
As the city continues to grow – now the 20th largest city in the U.S. – maintaining the city’s infrastructure will pose an ever-greater challenge.
This bond package is about investing in ourselves, in our health as a city. Think of it as spending money on a doctor’s visit instead of on new clothes – that outfit won’t do you any good if you’re too sick to go out. Similarly, our economy can’t continue to grow if our infrastructure isn’t able to support that growth.
Please go vote on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Let your voice be heard. Show that we believe in ourselves enough to make the investment.
