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Moore officials weigh sales-tax option to speed street and drainage projects
Summary
City staff outlined a proposal to consider a local sales tax in place of large geobond measures to fund roughly $46.6 million in construction costs (after ~$11 million in ACOG funds), citing greater flexibility to address urgent drainage and short-term projects; council agreed to gather more data and delay any ballot placement.
City staff presented council members with a choice of financing mechanisms for a slate of previously approved design projects: continue pursuing geobonds for each package or pursue a local sales tax to provide a steady revenue source and more flexibility across short-, medium- and long-term needs.
Staff said the gross construction cost for the listed projects is nearly $58 million and net cost to the city after ACOG funding is about $46.6 million. The presentation noted two drainage projects (Rambling Oaks and the Northeast 20th/Lincoln corridor) with combined estimated construction costs of about $20 million and no dedicated funding source.
Staff framed the sales-tax option as a trade: it could provide near-term flexibility to address urgent drainage and street repairs without repeated bond elections, and the city could consider reducing its portion of property taxes in exchange. Council members discussed hypothetical tax-rate scenarios (for example, 0.75 cents vs. 1 cent), public outreach strategies (ward meetings, web materials and videos) and the timing of a ballot measure. Staff said they plan additional analysis and recommended moving a potential ballot placement from February to April to allow more data gathering and public engagement.
Council did not take a vote on a tax measure at the Nov. 17 meeting; instead members asked staff to provide more-detailed scenarios, outreach plans and fiscal modeling before placing any question on the ballot.
