Council members approve conservative city bond

By Bryan Dean

Published: September 11, 2007

Oklahoma City Council members took a conservative approach this morning, approving a bond issue that will not change the property tax rate and choosing to renovate the downtown police headquarters rather than put up a new building.

The $760 million bond issue will go before voters in December. Council members had agreed upon a basic list of projects including $510 million for streets.

The police headquarters was the only major issue the council had not decided. The cost of building a new headquarters was estimated at $43.5 million, about $8.3 million more than it would cost to renovate the existing police headquarters.

The council voted 6-3 for the cheaper option.

Ward 1 Councilman Gary Marrs, Ward 5 Councilman Brian Walters and Ward 6 Councilwoman Ann Simank voted against renovating.

They said the difference in cost was worth it to avoid the potential disruptions of renovation. Police will continue to operate in the building while it is gutted and rebuilt and the heating and air system, plumbing and electricity are replaced.

Council members also disagreed on whether to raise the property tax rate. Council members considered asking for a two mill increase to pay the bonds off about two years sooner. Such an increase would have cost about $31 per year in additional property taxes on a $150,000 home.

Ward 2 Councilman Sam Bowman, Ward 7 Councilwoman Willa Johnson and Ward 8 Councilman Pat Ryan advocated the higher millage rate. Ryan said he doesn't generally support higher taxes, but in this case the value to the voters would have been worth it.

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