Oklahoma City voters approve quality of life tax

Includes streetcar system

Steve Hawley, Dec 09, 09.

Voters in Oklahoma City on Tuesday approved a seven-year, one-cent sales tax to support transit and quality of life projects, according to NewsOK. The tax is expected to pay for $777 million in new transit projects, and it passed with over 54 percent of the vote. Voter turnout reached 31 percent, twice the normal level for Oklahoma City elections.

Oklahoma City first began focusing on transit projects with the creation of the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) program in 1993. MAPS was funded by a voter-approved one-cent sales tax over five and a half years, which generated $363 million in revenue. It was followed by MAPS for Kids in 2001, which dedicated $700 million in sales tax revenues to local schools. The plan approved on Tuesday, MAPS 3, includes a new 70-acre downtown park, a streetcar system, new sidewalks and bike trails, and a new downtown convention center.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said that MAPS 3 will continue the city’s “golden age.” According to the article, “The first two MAPS ... spurred billions in private development, and city leaders anticipate the same with MAPS 3.”

A citizen oversight board will be established within weeks to help the city decide what projects to pursue first.