From Staff Reports
Piedmont’s City Manager Jason Orr has released a letter to residents supporting the city council’s plan to raise road improvement money with a two-year $28 tax to be charge monthly on utility bills.
Residents will vote on the issue in a special election Tuesday, Jan. 12.
Orr states in a letter to residents that “Our state is the only one in the entire country that restricts municipalities to primarily sales tax to fund local government operations.”
The plan for the tax has drawn opposition in Piedmont. A full-page ad in The Piedmont-Surrey Gazette by Nicholas Sibley states that the proposition would be a total of $672 for each household.
“Vote No on Jan. 12,” the paid advertisement reads.
Orr said the city has “zero property taxes from citizens.”
“Without major retailers located in larger cities of the metro, communities like Piedmont must come up with alternative to produce necessary revenue for these services.”
Orr’s entire letter follows:
“Dear Piedmont citizen,
The City Council and I would like to take a moment to inform the public of an upcoming vote on January 12th that will allow our community to move forward with much needed road construction projects. Most Oklahomans are unaware of the fact our state is the only one in the entire country that restricts municipalities to primarily sales tax to fund local government operations. This leaves bedroom communities like Piedmont in a challenging position financially because we receive zero property taxes from citizens, but instead we predominantly rely on sales tax to pay for police protection, fire services, and provide infrastructure. Without the major retailers located in larger cities of the metro, communities like Piedmont must come up with alternatives to produce necessary revenue for these services.
After carefully considering several options, the City Council voted to send a road tax proposal to the citizens for direct approval. In January you will have the opportunity to decide as a community if you would like to fund these projects. If the proposal is approved by Piedmont voters, $28 will be added to every monthly utility bill within City limits for two years which will generate approximately $1.6 million. This money will only be used to reconstruct one mile of Mustang Road between 164th and 178th and one mile of Piedmont Road between 178th and 192nd. Unlike a Band-aid fix, these will be quality projects with a 25+ year rating. We are nearing completion of a similar reconstruction project on Piedmont Road between 206th and 220th and citizens can expect the same level of quality with the two new projects to include proper base and drainage work and a 6” asphalt overlay.
If you should have any questions regarding this issue, feel free to reach out to me at City Hall or your City Council member. Thank you again for your consideration and participation in this public vote. “
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