The City of Watonga will go to the voters in January to ask for a 1 % sales tax. The money would be earmarked for capital improvements, or to repay loans the city takes out to make capital improvements.
In the realm of government and budgets, capital improvements are considered permanent structural alterations or repair to a property that improves it substantially.
The tax will be in addition to the already existing sales taxes in the city; however, its collection would begin when a 1% sales tax currently collected to benefit Mercy Hospital ends. That 1% is an extension of the tax that expired in 2018. The city has collected 2% for the hospital for decades.
The current sales tax rate in Watonga is 10.375% broken down into 4.5% Oklahoma state sales tax; .875% Blaine County sales tax; and 5% city tax. That 5% includes the 2% for Mercy, leaving 3% for the city general fund.
The lowest sales tax rate in the state is in tiny Bison, in Garfield County, with a population of 32, at 4.85% and the highest is in Boley, population 951, in Okfuskee County, with a rate of 11.5%.
The legal notice for the city appeared in the Nov. 16 edition of the Watonga Republican. It shows the election will be held Jan. 10, 2023. The tax would begin collection on July 1, 2023 and sunset on June 30, 2055, according to the official sample ballot.
All City Manager Karri Beth Little is at liberty to say is that the money would be dedicated to capital improvements as outlined in the legal notice wording and that more information will be issued well before the vote. This stance is so that the information is complete and accurate.
At the city council meeting of Nov. 15, the city and the public works authority contracted with Municipal Finance Services, Inc. to provide some or all the financial services for new or outstanding debts. Those debts could include general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, bank loans, lease financing or loans from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, other state or federal agencies. The agreements are the same for both the city and the PWA.
The OWRB has as part of its mission statement financial assistance for water and wastewater systems. The Biden administration has earmarked more than $90 million for water projects in Oklahoma. Of that amount, $25 million is for safe drinking water investments.