Oklahoma City voters overwhelmingly approved a sprawling $2.7 billion GO bond package that will impact everything from streets to affordable housing, shaping the growing city’s future for at least a generation to come.
All 11 of the proposals were decided separately, and each passed with at least 75 percent support. The effort, which was championed by OKC City Council members and business leaders, faced no significant opposition. Fresh off an NBA championship celebration and the approval of a $1 billion new city-owned arena, OKC voters extended their 30-year track record of approving bonds and sales taxes to fund big projects.
The 11 ballot categories are slated to produce 547 individual projects across the city. Roads will get the most attention with 184 resurfacing projects that will cost an estimated $1.35 billion across OKC’s 620-square-mile footprint. The city’s parks will also see money that will be used for 30 projects, including improvements to the Devon Park softball stadium, Trosper Park’s golf course and C.B Cameron Park’s athletic fields.
In total, the bond package was divided into 11 separate ballot propositions, with each requiring only a simple majority vote for approval. The package includes:
- Streets, $1.35 billion;
- Park facilities, $414 million;
- Economic and community development projects, $175 million;
- Drainage control projects, $140.4 million;
- Transit and parking system projects, $129.6 million;
- Fire Department facilities, $130 million;
- Public safety projects, $107 million;
- Bridges, $90.6 million;
- Traffic signals, $81 million;
- Libraries, $52.4 million;
- City maintenance, storage, and data facilities, $47 million.
All election results are unofficial until certified by the Oklahoma State Election Board.
A 25-year extension of existing property taxes will pay for the bonds, or loans taken out with city revenues backing them. Voters extended 16 mills of property tax, which is the equivalent of $1 per $1,000 property value.
Within Proposition 5 — economic and community development projects — $50 million is dedicated for affordable housing. The funds are intended to incentivize development, preserve existing affordable housing, develop policy and implement code updates.
The city is facing a housing crunch as its population grows rapidly, with about 20,000 households added from 2010 to 2019, according to the city’s Housing Affordability Implementation Plan released earlier this year. Another 27,000 were added between 2019 and 2022. Exacerbated by the impact of the short-term rental market, population growth and construction cost increases, OKC’s housing market is undersupplied.
The bond package passed Tuesday also includes money for the NBA-champion OKC Thunder. Beyond the $50 million for housing in the $175 million economic and community development bucket is $25 million for the Thunder to build franchise office space in the $1 billion taxpayer-funded arena. The Thunder ownership group has pledged $50 million to the arena project.
The passage of OKC’s most recent infrastructure bond comes about a year after one of the metro’s largest suburbs voted down a large package. Last November, Edmond voters rejected a $231 million bond package that would have provided for road maintenance and a new fire station, among other things.
