OKC Voters Decide To Extend Sales Tax For MAPS 3

MURRAY EVANS

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ¿ Oklahoma City residents voted Tuesday to continue paying an additional one-cent sales tax that in recent years has helped transform downtown and provided a boost for local schools.

With all 271 precincts reporting, the third Metropolitan Area Projects proposal in 16 years passed with 54.3 percent of the vote out of about 75,400 votes cast, according to the Oklahoma County Election Board. Mayor Mick Cornett said he thinks the turnout was the largest ever for an Oklahoma City municipal election.

Under the $777 million MAPS 3 proposal, city leaders have promised a new downtown convention center and 70-acre park, a downtown streetcar system, bicycle trails, sidewalks, senior centers and improvements along the Oklahoma River. Proponents said the proposal will sustain what they call unprecedented progress in the state's largest city.

"This assures that the momentum is going to continue," Cornett said. "We're taking one of the strongest economies in the country and providing an extreme booster shot.

"I feel like we've got an assignment. The expectations are pretty high."

Opponents, including local police and fire unions, argued a recession was not the time to extend a sales tax and said the city should focus instead on public safety concerns. Cornett has said use tax money related to MAPS 3 could be used for public safety purposes.

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