Lawton officials say mechanisms in place to ensure CIP projects are done

City of Lawton officials said mechanisms are in place to ensure projects listed in the Capital Improvements Program Extension are completed.

The projects and programs that are to be funded by the revenue stream recreated by extending the program’s 2.125 percent sales tax through Dec. 31, 2040, are listed in a resolution of intent that City Council members approved June 3 when they set the Aug. 27 ballot resolution. Amending that list would take a majority vote of the City Council, acting in open session, city officials said.

City Manager John Ratliff said in addition to providing that information to residents prior to the vote, CIP funds are audited (as are all city funds), which means someone is checking to ensure the city spends its money the way the council told the public it would be. He said that includes the projects included in the 2019 CIP, approved by voters in 2020. He said the city’s intent is to continue to focus on those 2019 projects, which in turn features projects from two previous CIPs incorporated into the 2019 program. The resolution lists those projects as the city’s top priority in the CIP Extension.

“Those projects were approved by voters and we are obligated to finish them,” Ratliff said.

Caitlin Gatlin, communications and marketing manager for the City of Lawton, said the city also has a CIP Citizens Advisory Committee, a volunteer body comprised of representatives from each of Lawton’s eight City Council wards who meet twice a year with city staff to review and ask questions about CIP projects. While that board has had problems meeting quorum requirements (the number of members who must be present for a meeting to occur), new provisions for alternate members will allow it to meet on a regular basis, she said.

Gatlin also said the City of Lawton will retain its PROPEL 2040 page on the city’s website (lawtonok.gov), revamping that page to provide updates on the CIP and answer questions.

The resolution itself sets guidelines for the funding.

It specifies the sales tax is projected to generate $34 million annually, an amount expected to increase 3 percent annually. City staff is to review revenue collections during the year and report to the council with “adjustment recommendations” by March 15 each year. That report is to include an update on status of work, with list of those bid, awarded and completed, the resolution states.

Funds generated in excess of the projected annual amount are to be deemed excess funds and allocated by the council after input from residents at two public hearings. That is the same provision in place in the existing CIP, city officials said.

Mayor Stan Booker said voters approved the program as a means of funding progress in the community, which is why he thinks it is important to get to work.

“This is not just a political thing,” he said, adding it’s also not just citizens who are affected. “The staff is excited about it. They can see what it can do for them. We have now been through PROPEL 2019, and see what planning for the future and funding can do. It’s changing attitudes throughout the organization.”

Booker said that ability to plan is one of the strongest benefits of the CIP funding, and it will allow projects ranging from the new aquatics center to continued road upgrades. It also includes the arts and cultural programs that impact families: youth art programs, work on Museum of the Great Plains and McMahon Auditorium, and the launch of a project to turn the old National Guard Armory into a youth arts center.

“All quality of life issues,” Booker said, adding it is important for work to begin. “When people vote for something, they want to see results.”