First, we will not be having a Monthly meeting in March due to all of the Conventions taking place. Our next monthly meeting will be on Thursday, June 6, 2024 when we have our Candidate Forum. So make sure to mark you calendar for that.
Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024 Presidential Preferential Primary Elections. Early voting starts tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 29th - 8am to 6pm. Then on Friday, Mar. 1st - 8am to 6pm. And on Saturday, Mar. 2nd 8am to 2pm. Then polls open on Tuesday, March 5th from 7am to 7pm. Make sure you vote.
Two locations for Early Voting only:
NSU Broken Arrow, 3100 E New Orleans
FBC Wagoner, 401 NE 2nd
Valid State Issue ID Required
Also if you live in Wagoner County there will be 8 propositions on the Tuesday, March 5, 2024 ballot. We have shared this information in our Precinct Meetings. We wanted to provide you with information about each one of the propositions so you are educated when you get ready to vote. I have also included the PowerPoint slides that was used at the 5 Town Halls by the presenter. At the end will be my opinion on the propositions.
RESOLUTION 2023-050 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 8)
This ballot measure will enact a permanent 5% Lodging Tax to be charged on hotels, bed and breakfasts, and RV parks in the unincorporated part of Wagoner County. The revenues will be used to advance tourism in Wagoner County.
What you need to know:
- Tourism goals will be centered around not only around the Ft. Gibson Lake area, but around the Jean Pierre Chouteau Trail, a 69-mile hiking trail which runs along the McLellan Kerr Navigational Channel from the Port of Catoosa to the Port of Muskogee. The trail was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the seventies but is no longer maintained by them. For more information about similar projects, look up the Allegheny Trail and the Northwest Arkansas Trail.
- Companies such as Google and Amazon, with young workforces look for recreational activities when looking at potential sites for relocation.
- All municipalities currently have a lodging tax. The addition of a county tax will not affect that and it will not be collected within city limits.
- Most Wagoner County residents will not pay this tax.
RESOLUTIONS 2023-139 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 1) THROUGH 2023-141 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 3) ARE AN EXTENSION OF THE CURRENT ONE CENT SALES TAX. IT IS NOT A NEW TAX AND DOES NOT RAISE THE TAX RATE. THE COUNTY IS CURRENTLY UNABLE TO BOND ON SALES TAX BECAUSE IT IS NOT PERMANENT TAX. AS IT IS NOW, THE TAX GOES BACK TO THE PEOPLE EVERY TEN YEARS FOR RENEWAL AND WILL DO SO AGAIN IN 2028 IF THESE MEASURES ARE DEFEATED. SHOULD RESOLUTION 2023-139 THROUGH 2023-141 PASS, THE TAX WILL BECOME PERMANENT, ALLOWING THE COUNTY TO FINANCE BONDS FROM THE REVENUES TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE COUNTY.
RESOLUTION 2023-139 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 1)
This portion of the One Cent Sales Tax provides for .8 cents which is used to provide equipment and materials for the maintenance and repair of county roads. It is currently the only source of funding for those projects.
RESOLUTION 2023-140 (BALOT PROPOSITION NO. 2)
This portion of the One Cent Sales Tax provides for .1 cent which is used to fund the Operation of the Sheriff’s Office. It is a major source of funding for his office providing $866,261.96 in funding during Fiscal Year 2023.
RESOLUTION 2023-141 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 3)
This portion of the One Cent Sales Tax provides for .1 cent which is used to fund General Government expenditures, specifically the property and liability and worker’s compensation insurance for the county.
RESOLUTION 2023-142 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 4)
This question involves the current Wagoner County Fire Sales Tax. It is not a new tax and it is already permanent. The measure, should it be approved, would divide the current revenues in half, with 50% continuing to fund the Fire Departments, and the other 50% providing for Ambulance or Medical Service under a newly formed Wagoner County Ambulance Authority.
What you need to know:
- The county is required by statute to ensure that there is effective ambulance coverage throughout the county. There is currently no service provided.
- The measure does not “defund” the fire departments, rather keeps them at their pre-Covid average. Currently our Fire Departments receive close to $17,000 per month, compared to the Fiscal Year 2018 average of $8,653 per month.
- The majority of calls placed to Wagoner County Fire Departments are medical calls.
- Wait times for an ambulance in rural Wagoner County can be in excess of 45 minutes, and the county must rely on Muskogee and Mayes County to respond when Broken Arrow, Coweta and Wagoner ambulances are all on calls within their respective jurisdictions.
RESOLUTION 2023-143 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 5)
This measure would provide for a new .125 cents (one-eighth of a cent) sales tax for a term of thirty (30) years, to provide renovations and construction for the current Wagoner County Courthouse campus.
What you need to know:
- The County now owns the entire city block, having acquired the school located directly behind the courthouse in a property swap with the school and the City and Wagoner. That transaction caused the county to forfeit its parking lot across the street leaving them with no public parking.
- The proposed plan calls for construction of a new public entrance to the courthouse, public parking and renovations to the school which would include a new meeting room for the Board of Commissioners and new location for the Wagoner County Election Board.
RESOLUTION 2023-144 (BALLOT PROPOSITION N0. 6)
This measure would provide a new .25 (one-quarter of a cent) permanent sales tax for the purpose of establishing the Wagoner County Jail Trust Authority and providing a funding mechanism for the operation, renovation and staffing of the current Wagoner County Jail.
What you need to know:
- In almost all cases, detention centers are the largest potential liability in a county. Judgements rendered as a result of litigation arising from the jail, fall to the citizens of the county to pay through a sinking fund paid for through increased property taxes.
- Under a Jail Trust Authority, the Sheriff is no longer solely responsible for running the daily operation of the jail. Depending upon under which title of statute they are formed, there are trusts under which the Sheriff sits on the Board of Trustees, however the operation of the facility will become the responsibility of the authority and the jail administrator who reports to them.
- The measure does not stipulate under which title of statute the trust will be formed.
RESOLUTION 2023-145 (BALLOT PROPOSITION NO. 7)
This measure provides for a new .125 (one-eighth cent) sales tax with a term of thirty (30) years for the purpose of design and construction of a new Fairgrounds facility/Fair Barn, entry and improvements to infrastructure.
What you need to know:
- The County and Fair Board are currently negotiating a land swap with the City of Coweta which would see the current Fairgrounds property repurposed by the City of Coweta for their Public Works department. In exchange, the Fair Board/County would receive space at the current sports park located adjacent to the Muskogee Turnpike.
- OSU Extension would have offices at the new location as well.
- The facility will be available for use by the public for multiple events including agricultural, FFA and 4-H events, and the Wagoner County Free Fair.
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Should all measures pass, the total tax increase is .5 (one-half) cent.
- Of that half-cent increase, only .25 (one-quarter) cent is permanent.
It is possible that the taxes intended for construction and/or renovation could retire early should collections exceed projected revenues and the facilities are complete.
Link to PDF of PowerPoint that was presented at the 5 Town Halls
If you have an questions please respond to this email.
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Other important dates:
“Super Tuesday” - Presidential Preferential Primary Elections
Last day to register to vote: Friday, February 9, 2024
Deadline to request absentee ballot: 5 PM, Monday, February 19, 2024
Early Voting: Thursday, February 29,2024 - 8 AM - 6 PM
Friday, March 1, 2024 - 8 AM - 6 PM
Saturday, March 2, 2024 - 8 AM - 2 PM
Election Day: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Polls will be open from 7 am - 7 pm
REMEMBER TO GO VOTE
Board of Education General Elections
Last day to register to vote: Friday, March 8, 2024
Deadline to request absentee ballot: 5 PM, Monday, March 18, 2024
Early Voting: Thursday, March 28, 2024, 8 AM - 6 PM
Friday, March 29, 2024, 8 AM - 6 PM
Election Day: Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Polls will be open from 7 am - 7 pm
REMEMBER TO GO VOTE
2024 1st Congressional District Convention
When: Saturday, April 6, 2024
Time To Be Announced
Where: Evergreen Baptist Church, 10301 E 111th St S, Bixby, OK 74008
What: More information will be coming out.
* To be a delegate at the 1st Congressional District Convention, you must attend your precinct meeting as well as the County Convention & you also must live in the 1st Congressional District. If you MUST be absent from the precinct meeting, you must contact your Precinct Chair before the close of the week of the precinct meeting. If you cannot reach your Precinct Chair, contact your County Chair.
2024 2nd Congressional District Convention
When: Saturday, April 13, 2024
Time To Be Announced
Where: TBA
What: More information will be coming out.
* To be a delegate at the 2nd Congressional District Convention, you must attend your precinct meeting as well as the County Convention & you also must live in the 2nd Congressional District. If you MUST be absent from the precinct meeting, you must contact your Precinct Chair before the close of the week of the precinct meeting. If you cannot reach your Precinct Chair, contact your County Chair.
2024 Quadrennial OKGOP State Convention - Day 1
When: Friday, May 3, 2024
Time: TBA
Where: Metro OKC
What: State Executive Committee Meeting
State Committee Meeting
Convening of 2024 OKGOP State Convention
Friday Evening - Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony
More information will be coming out. There are requirements that have to be met.
* To be a delegate at the Quadrennial State Convention, you must first start by attending your precinct meeting and then be elected as a Delegate from the County Convention TO the State Convention. If you MUST be absent from the precinct meeting, you must contact your Precinct Chair before the close of the week of the precinct meeting. If you cannot reach your Precinct Chair, contact your County Chair.
Continuation of the 2024 Quadrennial OKGOP State Convention - Day 2
When: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Time: TBA
Where: Metro OKC
What: State Convention continues and adjourns
More information will be coming out. There are requirements that have to be met.
* To be a delegate at the Quadrennial State Convention, you must first start by attending your precinct meeting and then be elected as a Delegate from the County Convention TO the State Convention. If you MUST be absent from the precinct meeting, you must contact your Precinct Chair before the close of the week of the precinct meeting. If you cannot reach your Precinct Chair, contact your County Chair.
Immediately after adjournment, there shall be a MANDATORY meeting of ALL
Congressional And At-Large Delegates and Alternates to the Republican National
Convention.
June Monthly Meeting - Candidate Forum
When: Thursday, June 6, 2024
Time: TBD
Where: TBD
RNC National Convention
When: Monday, July 15, 2024 - Thursday, July 18, 2024
Where: Milwaukee, WI
For Who: Only At-Large Delegates that are elected at our State Convention, and Delegates elected at our 1st & 2nd & 3rd & 4th & 5th Congressional Districts.
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If someone forwarded this email to you and you live in Wagoner County and would like to keep up to date with our monthly meetings and events. Please REGISTER NOW on the website with a current email for yourself and we will make sure to keep you up to date.
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