By John Dobberstein, Editor
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE:
Propositions 1, 5 and 6: Addressing Broken Arrow’s Infrastructure
Proposition 2: Beefing Up Public Safety
Propositions 3, 4 and 7: Building Up Broken Arrow’s Parks, Community Facilities
Proposition 8: Sales Tax Hike for Sports Facilities Spurs Debate
At Tuesday’s “Build Our Future” general obligation bond (GO Bond) election, voters in Broken Arrow will decide the fate of $415 million worth of bond projects that will define the level of infrastructure and amenities that residents, businesses and visitors will enjoy in the next decade.
The break-neck pace of residential growth in Broken Arrow seen in previous decades is likely a thing of the past, but it’s not over: the population is still growing 1-2% per year, which continues to put pressure on the city’s resources.
With an estimated population of 124,000, Broken Arrow is now Oklahoma’s fourth-largest city, topped only by Norman (132,000), Tulsa (413,000) and Oklahoma City (702,000). Broken Arrow’s population has grown nearly 9% since 2020.
Recently, U.S. News & World Report ranked Broken Arrow as the 12th best city in the U.S. to live, which will do nothing to reduce the city’s appeal. But the continued growth south and east of the city center is putting pressure on streets, utilities, schools, community centers and more.
More than half of the GO Bond 2026 package and its 7 propositions pertains to infrastructure, with $205 million worth of street widenings, intersection improvements and other projects meant to address traffic capacity. Propositions 1-7, if approved, would not increase current property taxes.
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Proposition 8 would approve a temporary 0.5% sales tax increase dedicated specifically to $46 million in improvements to sports facilities in Broken Arrow. The tax increase would run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031.
Although numerous Broken Arrow residents — especially in Wagoner County — have said they will oppose raising the sales tax for such a purpose and believe “there is no temporary tax,” Spurgeon said neither he nor the City Council will support extending the sales tax any further than 2031.
The Broken Arrow City Council, city staff and a special citizen steering committee started working the list of potential projects 2.5 years ago, whittling them down the list voters will see next week. The city also distributed several surveys to residents to gain input on project priorities.
To date, voters have approved 8 bond packages in the last 29 years, including the last one in 2018 that included 6 propositions comprising in a $210 million bond program — the majority of which ($142.6 million) addressing transportation.
LIST OF PROPOSITIONS
Prop. 1: Transportation
Prop. 2: Public Safety
Prop. 3: Parks & Recreation/Quality of Life
Prop. 4: Public Facilities
Prop. 5: Stormwater
Prop. 6: Drainage
Prop. 7: Library Partnership
Prop. 8: Sports Facilities
Additionally, Broken Arrow voters living in Tulsa County approved a 13-year, 6/10 of one penny sales tax increase to fund economic, educational and quality of life projects, such as expansion of NSU Broken Arrow, the Rose District, and the Nienhuis Aquatic Center.
In 2015, voters approved the renewal of the expiring sales tax of the Vision 2025 initiative.
City Council members and city staff have also held more than 50 meetings with HOAs, community groups and others to discuss the bond package and answer questions, which have been attended by groups of a few people to more than 100.
“I believe our community understands the importance of investments and reinvestments in its infrastructure and amenities to maintain that great quality of life,” City Manager Michael Spurgeon says. “I’m proud of the transparency and I’m also proud that the projects that we’ve included in there are the projects that our citizens wanted to see.”
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