Tulsa Gubmint Puts A Polished Turd On The Ballot

[Raoul Duke]

Kaiser's Kool-Aid Klown:



https://twitter.com/gtbynum/status/693207558568280065

 

[Raoul Duke]

So if Jenks voters don't approve funding for the south dam(no vote scheduled that I could find), it doesn't get built, but Tulsa may collect the taxes for it anyway to use as a slush fund for projects that won't even be on the ballot:

Note: The south Tulsa/Jenks low-water dam would not be funded if Jenks residents fail to approve funding for the project. If Jenks residents fail to fund the dam and Tulsa residents approve funding for the project, the city would not collect the sales tax needed for the dam or would use the revenue to fund projects on a contingency list. Those details are being worked out and will be voted on by the City Council next week.

https://www.readfrontier.com/city-has-vision-2025-package-in-place-tulsa-countys-to-come-monday/

 

[Raoul Duke]

Tulsans Revolt Against New Tax Plan
Guest opinion, by George McFarlin

On April 5th Tulsa voters will be asked to INCREASE the city of Tulsa sales tax rate by 6/10th cent. The question remains:

WHEN IS ENOUGH EVER ENOUGH FOR GOVERNMENT TAX AND SPEND PROGRAMS?

FACTS ABOUT THE VISION FOREVER SALES TAX

http://soonerpolitics.blogspot.com/2016/02/tulsans-revolt-against-new-tax-plan.html

 

[marvin]

I'm glad I'm not in Tulsa county anymore. Putting crap like that out, people already voted against a low water dam!

 

[securitysix]

Well, I voted against Vision 2025, which was supposed to have done at least some of these things that never got done (low water dams, funding parks and swimming pools for pretty much every city and town in Tulsa County, stuff like that).

If I still voted, I'd vote against this, too. Not like it will matter. Most folks in Tulsa will vote for it because they fall for the "It's not a new tax" and "it's only a penny" lines, ignoring the fact that it is a new tax (without it, the Vision 2025 tax expires). And sure, it's "only a penny", but it's a penny for every dollar you spend for the rest of your life, because they'll never let it expire if it gets passed. That adds up.

It worked with Vision 2025, and all we got out of that was the BOK Center. The river improvements never happened (where'd that money go?). They closed a bunch of parks and swimming pools (where'd that money go?). The county roads still suck and most of them that I drive on haven't been touched in over 20 years (where'd that money go?).

When this passes, and it will, because the voters in Tulsa are suckers, taxes will go up, but very few, if any, of the things this is supposed to fund will get done, and most of what does get done (if anything) won't be done well.

 

[Raoul Duke]

The Tulsa City Council is rushing to get the new "Vision" tax on the ballot for April. The current Vision 2025 tax doesn't expire until the end of the year, so they could wait until June (the city, state, and federal primary date) or November (city, state, and federal general election) and avoid the cost of a special election. Why don't they?

Not only is the proposed package far from a cohesive vision, but the Basis of Estimate (BoE) -- the details that justify the amount budgeted -- for each item is dreadfully inadequate. There's reason to believe that the estimates are way off, which means that some ideas that could be funded won't be, and other ideas will be promised (like the low-water dams in Vision 2025, or the juvenile justice facility in Four to Fix the County) and attract votes, but won't have any possibility of being built without going back to the voters for more money.

http://www.batesline.com/archives/2016/01/tulsa-re-vision-bmx-simulator.html

 

[Raoul Duke]

Tulsa County Caviar Conservative Astroturf Establishment trying to snuff out the Grassroots?

But there is a new practice that could be used to keep the Tulsa County GOP from taking a clear stand. Subcommittees are allowed to pull planks out of their section if they call for specific legislative action. These removed planks would be placed in a "legislative action document" to be sent to legislative leaders for their consideration. I was given mixed signals about whether this document would be considered as part of the platform as published and whether it would be available to the general public. This new document has the potential for being used as a pretext for pulling anti-Dam-Tax resolutions out of the platform. Beyond that specific concern, this new approach seems to reduce the platform to a grab-bag of suggestions, rather than the party grassroots speaking collectively on issues of concern. This new approach was not brought before the platform committee for debate or approval.

http://www.batesline.com/archives/2016/02/tulsa-county-gop-2013-platform-o.html

 

[michaeld]

I hope you take this as the constructive criticism that it is
But honestly, you lose me when you use words like "gubmint" and "Tulsa County Cavier AstroTurf".

I'm against Vision package but speaking normal would get more people to read your posts and take you seriously. Reminds me of Mausermike and that's not a compliment

 

[Raoul Duke]

Even Tulsa City Councilors aren't clear on what is being voted on and how the money will actually get spent in the Vision slush fund:

America Asks for Clarification of "Vague" Dam Ordinance

As Tulsa’s city council worked on finalizing ordinances dealing with the proposed Vision funding package this week, Councilor Anna America expressed concerns about a lack of details in the ordinance dealing with low-water dams.

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/america-asks-clarification-vague-dam-ordinance#stream/0

 

[Raoul Duke]

Studio Tulsa: Citizens for a Better Vision

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/argument-against-soon-be-voted-vision-tulsa-sales-tax-program