River Tax Vote Set For October 9th

Voters in Tulsa County will decide whether it's worth raising sales taxes to pay for projects on the river. On Thursday the County Commission set the election for October 9th. The vote was unanimous,

Thursday, August 2nd 2007, 6:35 am

By: News On 6

Voters in Tulsa County will decide whether it's worth raising sales taxes to pay for projects on the river. On Thursday the County Commission set the election for October 9th. The vote was unanimous, but even they conceded the public is divided on how to pay for river projects. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports even the critics of river development who spoke before the commission said they liked the plan, but not the sales tax to pay for it.

Dan Hicks, Ron Howell and Marilyn Beatty were on the front row and in the minority at Thursdayâ€™s meeting where the County Commission considered the vote.

â€œI'm not against developing the river, what I am against is this tax,â€ said river tax opponent Ron Howell.

That was a common theme. No one spoke against the plan, but several people spoke against the tax, and predicted the public would not accept it, even to pay for something as popular as river development.

â€œI want it to succeed, but I'm concerned that voters in Owasso and Broken Arrow will vote against it and bring it down,â€ said river tax opponent Greg Bledsoe.

The commissioners didn't need convincing, since they had already publicly supported the plan, but they listened as Owasso's mayor urged them to vote for it.

"From the mayor of a town that's not on the river, where the residents don't wake up and see this river, let me tell you, everybody is going to benefit from this," said Owasso Mayor Stephen Cataudella.

The mayor of Broken Arrow urged commissioners to reconsider a county wide sales tax for projects that will be limited to the river. The commissioners voted to call the election, and let voters decide whether they want to tax themselves to pay for improvements to the river.

"People will either be for it or against, we just want to make sure they know what they need to know to make that decision," river project donor Chet Cadieux said.

Supporters of the river plan have bracelets being made that say "Make Our River Happen.â€ That's going to be their battle cry for the public relations campaign that's coming.

To read the text of the resolution approved by the Tulsa County Commission, click here.

Watch the video: River Plan Going To A Vote Of The People

Related Stories:

2/9/2007 Record Donation Aids Expansion Of River Parks Trail

6/20/2007 River Development Plans

6/21/2007 New Plans For Arkansas River Development

7/17/2007 River Development Reaches Another Landmark

7/18/2007 River Developments Hinges On Vote Of The People

7/18/2007 Arkansas River Development Plan Announced

7/19/2007 Campaign Planned To Push River Development

7/20/2007 River Development Plan Similar To One Already Passed

7/26/2007 City Councilor Has A New Plan To Pay For River Development

7/29/2007 Explaining Development Along The Arkansas River

7/30/2007 River Tax Debate Continues