Tulsa Councilors Vote To Annex County Fairgrounds

TULSA, Okla. (AP) The Tulsa City Council has voted 5-4 to annex the Tulsa County fairgrounds despite opposition from nearby residents and county commissioners. The vote came at the end of a four-hour

Friday, April 6th 2007, 2:42 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) The Tulsa City Council has voted 5-4 to annex the Tulsa County fairgrounds despite opposition from nearby residents and county commissioners. The vote came at the end of a four-hour meeting on the proposal Thursday night.

Supporters say the annexation will increase the city's tax revenue. By annexing the fairgrounds the city will collect its 3% tax on all sales.

All three county commissioners have been against annexation. Commissioner Fred Perry said last week the city of Tulsa would lose money annexing the county fairgrounds, according to a report by the state Tax Commission. He said the report shows annual revenue of $11.25 million with potential sales tax revenue to the city of $338,000. Perry said when factoring in police, security and utility costs, the city would lose money.

A spokeswoman for Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor said Taylor should get paperwork on the vote next week, and then will have 15 days to decide whether to veto the plan.

"She wants to take a look at the financial analysis that has been gathered," spokeswoman Sheryl Lovelady said Friday. "There's no dispute the city is facing financial challenges."

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