Lawton City Council OKs ballot for ad valorem election

Lawton residents will go to the polls Sept. 12 to approve a 10-year extension of the ad valorem program to pay for upgrades to city streets and bridges.

The Lawton City Council finalized the ballot language on Tuesday, then immediately recessed to sign the necessary paperwork to get the measure on the Set. 12 ballot. The council was facing a deadline of Thursday to approve the ballot language and submit the measure to the Comanche County Election Board.

If approved by voters, the measure will help pay for another $60 million worth of road, bridge and associated infrastructure projects. Mayor Stan Booker has said it is the city’s best option for vital road projects, as well as bridges on South 11th Street and Cache Road that have deteriorated to the point they must be replaced (South 11th Street) or repaired (Cache Road).

The ballot resolution will include specific projects, with the council tasked with setting priorities. The project list includes the two bridge projects, as well as specific road projects that have been mentioned in recent months, including rebuilding Northwest Ferris Avenue between Fort Sill Boulevard and Northwest 2nd Street.

The city’s proposal is to sell $60 million more in General Obligation bonds, using ad valorem revenue to repay the 25-year debt. The ballot resolution restricts the revenue to roads, bridges and city infrastructure associated with those projects.

The council passed the measure 7-0 (Ward 7 Councilwoman Onreka Johnson was absent) with virtually no discussion. This was the third time the council had discussed the issue. Some wording concerning lease purchase agreements and adding specific projects to the ballot were necessary before the council signed off on the measure Tuesday.

The existing ad valorem program keeps the ad valorem mills allocated to city debt near 11 mills, with the difference between what is needed for existing debt each year and that cap allocated to the Ad Valorem Street Improvement Program. Voter approval has the net effect of extending the existing ad valorem program to 2036, providing a set amount each year that the city could issue as General Obligation bonds with the pledge of repaying that debt via the ad valorem program.

At a previous meeting, bond counsel Chris Gander said extending the tax will allow Lawton to issue General Obligation bonds and have the money in hand today to repair or rebuild the bridges, rather than waiting years and gambling construction expenses won’t escalate.

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill pointed out that the measure is not a new tax, but an extension of an existing tax.