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Broken Arrow outlines $415 million "Build Our Future" bond and a temporary half‑penny sales tax for sports
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Summary
City officials presented a proposed 2026 bond package called "Build Our Future," a $415 million property‑tax recapture package with seven propositions for streets, public safety, parks, facilities, stormwater, drainage assistance, and a library; a separate temporary half‑penny sales tax (Prop 8) would raise about $53 million for sports facilities and would sunset after five years. (shortSummary)
Kenny Schwab, assistant city manager for the City of Broken Arrow, presented the 2026 "Build Our Future" bond package to the Broken Arrow Public Schools board and described how projects were selected through public outreach and a steering committee. Schwab said propositions 1–7 would be funded by recapturing existing property‑tax revenues for about 10 years and "not a new tax," and he said the bond package will be on the April 7 ballot.
Schwab said the combined propositions 1–7 total about $415,000,000, with roughly $205,000,000 earmarked for transportation and street work (Proposition 1). He described Proposition 2 as funding public safety needs — including fire stations, training facilities and equipment — and Proposition 3 as a $74,000,000 allocation for parks and quality‑of‑life projects, led by a proposed community center in South Broken Arrow (Elam Park).
Proposition 4 would fund public facilities (approximately $65,000,000), including improvements to the Rose District Plaza and city‑owned museums and senior services. Schwab said Propositions 5 and 6 address stormwater and a private‑property drainage program; Proposition 5 was described as approximately $6,000,000 for public stormwater right‑of‑way work and Proposition 6 as $5,000,000 for a program the city has used since 2018 to partner on drainage improvements that also benefit the public at large. Proposition 7 would commit around $4,000,000 toward a new South Broken Arrow library; Schwab said private fundraising pushed the project closer to an estimated total cost of about $13,000,000.
Separately, Schwab described Proposition 8 as a new, temporary half‑penny sales tax (one half of one cent on the dollar), intended to raise about $53,000,000 for youth and adult sports facilities. He said the tax would sunset after five years and that the city would take a loan to build facilities immediately, arguing early construction lowers total cost compared with waiting to build later. The presentation included a spoken loan figure that appears inconsistent with other totals in the transcript: the transcript quotes "about $4,647,000,000" as the loan amount; that number looks anomalous relative to the bond totals and was recorded here as stated in the meeting transcript.
Board members asked how the city would sequence construction and whether Indian Springs facilities could remain open during multi‑year work; Schwab said the city would try to keep facilities operating but acknowledged sequencing and parking would be handled by engineers and construction managers. He also explained that putting turf fields down at some venues is part of a strategy to host larger tournaments and increase reliability after rain events.
Mayor Deborah Whippy opened the presentation and asked the board to encourage parents and residents to vote. Schwab closed by pointing attendees to buildourfutureba.org and a QR code and phone line for more details.
The presentation concluded with a brief question-and-answer period; Schwab asked the board to encourage turnout for the April 7 vote.
