On February 11th, the citizens of Tonkawa are being asked to approve an extension of our 1-cent sales tax that the City uses for Capital Expenditures and Projects. The City uses the revenue from this tax to purchase Fire Engines, Police vehicles, heavy equipment for the maintenance of our streets, and infrastructure improvements. It can also be used for other capital improvement projects such as City facilities and needed infrastructure improvements.
The sales tax was approved in 2001, and will expire in September, 2021.
The City Council has scheduled an election for February 11th to ask the Citizens of Tonkawa to approve a 20-year extension of the sales tax.
The Council is also asking to add language to the tax to allow it to be used for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a municipal swimming pool.
If the tax extension is passed there will be no increase in the City’s total sales tax rate. It will remain at 4.5%.
The new tax ordinance will allow the City to build a new Municipal Swimming Pool.
The ordinance does not specify a location for the pool. That would be determined separately through discussions with the Citizens of Tonkawa.
Since the closing of the old pool in 2016, there have been continued conversations and planning meetings of concerned citizens about repairing or replacing the old pool. Restoration of the old pool has been determined to be financially impossible.
Designs of modern municipal pools provide excellent opportunities for water recreation that are accessible for all of our residents from children to our seniors, and can be built, maintained, and operated with the financial resources of our town.
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