ITEM TITLE:
Consider approving a Resolution, repealing and replacing Resolution No. 2023-75 specifying the revised intent of the Mayor and Council of the City of Lawton, Oklahoma with regard to the replacement of the existing seven-eighths of one percent (7/8%) Capital Improvement/Operational Expenditure Sales Tax and the one and one-quarter percent (1.25%) Capital Improvement Sales Tax with a new sales tax to be levied of two and one-eighth percent (2.125%) as approved by the registered voters of the City of Lawton, Oklahoma at an election held for such purpose on February 11, 2020.
INITIATOR: Timothy Wilson, Deputy City Attorney
STAFF INFORMATION SOURCE: Timothy Wilson - Deputy City Attorney; John Ratliff - City Manager; Kristin Huntley - Interim Finance Director
BACKGROUND: On February 11, 2020, Lawton voters approved a proposition that replaced the 7/8% 2015 Capital Improvement/Operational Expenditure Sales Tax and the 1.25% 2016 Capital Improvement Sales Tax (CIPs) with a new excise tax of two and one-eighth percent (2.125%). In connection with the voters’ approval, a Resolution of Intent that set out the specific projects and operational expenditures the proposed sales tax will fund was adopted by the City Council. Those projects/expenditures include completion of projects/expenditures currently being funded and to be funded by the 2015 and 2016 sales taxes, along with new projects/expenditures enabled by the extension of both CIPs. Said resolution was revised in 2020 to add a category to fund infrastructure and financial support of new and existing retail development and retention in accordance with the City’s retail development policy. The Resolution of Intent was further revised in 2021 to add a new category for Program Administration to include funding for the development of a program management system/tool, bond/financing fees and associated legal expenses, and other administrative costs as approved by the council, with the total cost of said program administration not to exceed $1,000,000.
In 2022 the Resolution of Intent was revised again to: (1) remove the reference to the “Lawton Arts and Humanities Council” previously referenced in the section of Resolution 21-64 pertaining to “Parks & Recreational Facilities and Arts & Humanities,” and replace the reference to the “Lawton Arts and Humanities Council” with the “McMahon Auditorium Authority;” and (2) correct an inadvertent omission to Resolution 20-28 that removed a reference in Resolution 19-116 to an estimated $20,000,000 expenditure in the Parks and Recreational Area. That inadvertent omission was again carried forward with Resolution 21-64, but was corrected in Resolution 22-59.
In 2023 the Resolution of Intent was revised again through the passage of Resolution 23-75 to: (1) allocate an estimated additional $5,472,607 to Section C(3)(c) of the resolution pertaining to the “continuation of renovation and remodeling of City Hall facilities, this allocation being made following input from the citizens at no less than two open meetings of the Council, due to an anticipated one-time annual excess of revenue above $23,500,000 from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023; and (2) clarify the purpose of subparagraph (c) of Section C(3)(c): (a) includes the expansion of the parking lot immediately west of City Hall and (b) includes the construction of a stand-alone building for utility bill paying at or near said parking lot.
The proposed Resolution of Intent, which repeals and replaces Resolution 23-75, expresses the further revised administrative intent of the Council by: (1) allocating an estimated additional $2,027,393 to subparagraph (c) under Section (C)(3) “Improvements to City Buildings/Facilities,” specifically for the “continuation of renovation and remodeling of City Hall and facilities; and (2) allocating an estimated additional $5,185,037 to subparagraph (a) under Section (C)(4) “Parks & Recreational Facilities and Arts & Humanities,” specifically for the implementation of the aforementioned parks master plan in subparagraph (a), to include, but not limited to, Elmer Thomas Park, 38th Street Park, existing ballfields and a new sports complex. Pursuant to Section 4 hereof, these allocations are being made, following input from citizens at no less than two open meetings of the Council, due to an anticipated one-time annual excess of revenue above $23,500,000 from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Also, through this resolution: (1) the eight million dollar ($8,000,000) spending limitation for a sports complex from the total estimated twenty million dollar Parks & Recreation allocation in subparagraph (a) of Section (C)(4) of in Resolution 23-75 is being removed; and (2) an inadvertent omission in Resolution 20-28 that removed a reference in Section (C) of Resolution 19-116 to an estimated $2,500,000 for improvements to the Lawton Area Transit System is being added back into this resolution along with corrective language that the funds for LATS are for improvements including but “not” limited to the purchase of buses. That inadvertent omission was again carried forward with Resolutions 21-64, 22-59 and 23-75, but is being corrected in this Resolution.
EXHIBIT: Proposed Final Resolution 24-__; Proposed Resolution w/Strikethroughs showing changes
KEY ISSUES: N/A
FUNDING SOURCE: 2020 Sales Tax
STAFF RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: Approve Resolution No. 2024-_____.