City officials spoke to the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors during a recent meeting to inform them about the upcoming election to extend a city sales tax until 2049.
On Feb. 13, voters will decide whether to extend a half-cent sales tax until September 30, 2049. This tax was originally approved by voters in 2004 to fund the Multi-Sports Complex and benefit Southeastern. The tax is presently set to expire on September 30, 2024.
In a December meeting, Durant City Council approve an ordinance for an election to give residents an opportunity to extend the tax for another 25 years. If approved, the tax would be used to fund capital improvements including street, water and wastewater improvements, according to a sample ballot.
In the chamber of commerce meeting, city officials stressed that the tax is crucial for maintaining and improving Durant’s infrastructure.
Mayor Martin Tucker said the proposal asks Durant voters to maintain the sales tax and only change the purpose of it.
“I’ll just tell you, you drive the streets, you use the utilities, you’re familiar with the services the city provides and we need desperately to have more funding to pay for that and also not just to maintain the City of Durant, which we’re having a difficult time doing, but also the growth of the City of Durant because growth is here,” Tucker said.
Tucker mentioned the economic growth of the region, including the recent announcement of the Hard Rock Hotel that will be built at Lake Texoma in Marshall County.
“That’s just another indication of it in addition to what’s happening in Sherman, another indication of the growth that is happening in this area so Durant is growing,” Tucker said. “We need the sales tax. We need the revenue to help us maintain and grow the city along with what’s happening economically.”
Vice Mayor Mike Simulescu said the biggest thing is not only to look forward to the future growth but also to fix what has not been maintained during the last 10-20 years.
“The question is, what are we going to spend this on,” Simulescu asked. “It’s on Main Street. It’s on water, sewer projects. It’s on maintaining some of that stuff as well.”
He said the city has not done a good job of being proactive to prepare for the growth and that part of that is related to funding.
“This will help push us that direction as all of that growth is coming this way,” Simulescu said.
Interim city manager Rick Rumsey pointed out this is a sales tax, not a utility increase.
“It’s nothing like that,” Rumsey said. “We looked at everything. Realize that with a sales tax, it’s just not the citizens of Durant paying for this. It’s everybody that visits Durant and spends money in our community. So, we can actually get something from all of these Texas plates coming across the border.”
He said it is estimated to generate $2.6 million annually in revenue which will add a lot to the city’s existing funds.
“We have road repair funds,“Rumsey said. “We have water and sewer repair funds now, but we don’t, like the mayor said, we do not have enough … So this a very important vote for the city and the citizens.”
Rumsey said that currently, on the operational side, the city is receiving two percent.
“Two pennies per dollar and that’s very hard to do,” he said.
Rumsey said five-eighths of a penny in current taxes goes to the Durant School District.
“The recent survey we did approximately seven or eight months ago, the number one issue that everybody listed that responded, 3,000 and some people responded, was infrastructure, mainly roadways,” Rumsey said.
“Water and sewer, a lot of people don’t comment on that because it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind. Nobody really thinks about that until something comes bubbling out of the road or the ground. These are much-needed improvements for Durant’s current infrastructure. I think everybody here knows it’s heading this way, the growth.”
Rumsey said there is so much potential in Durant and when retailers visit, they look at the city’s infrastructure.
“Number one, they want nice roads for people to get to their business and number two, they want to make sure water and sewer is operating,” Rumsey said. “When we talk about sewer, a lot of of our sewer lines here, underground, when we dig them up, they’re clay tile. That’s where you’re getting the 70 years old plus.”
A power point presentation was made and among things shown were pictures of Main Street.
“That’s one of the projects that will probably be at the top, and that’s Main Street,” Rumsey said. “We have some funding already in place for Main Street. We do not have enough funding. Keep in mind, this sales tax can be used for roads and it also can be used for storm water improvements. How many of you ever drove down Main Street after a rain? And I’m not talking about a real heavy rain. Main Street now becomes our pond.” Rumsey spoke of the storm water that dumps into one central pipe from University Boulevard down to the south side of town. He said it is a galvanized culvert that rusts and is collapsing. He said this is something expensive to repair and replace but that it is much needed.
“The last thing we want to do is put a new road in and all of a sudden, every time it rains, it’s covered with water,” Rumsey said. “That water damages our road and we do not want to spend that kind of money. We have to do it right.”
Larkspur Lane is another road that needs improvement, according to Rumsey. He said the street is about a lane and a half wide and there is residential growth in that area.
“We have school buses going down there,” Rumsey said. “We have our trash trucks. When you get down to Wilson, the dogleg, that needs to be straightened out. That’s a very dangerous narrow road, and that would be high on our list.”
The proposition also includes debt service because sales tax comes in slowly, Rumsey said.
“So, we can’t sit here and wait five or six years for this to build up so that allows us to borrow against the sales tax and use the sales tax to pay back for what we’re doing,” Rumsey said. “But, it has to be within the scope of that proposition. We’re audited every year by the state and they go off that language right there and we will set up special funds for this that they’re earmarked funds, and they cannot be used for anything else.”
Over the next 25 years, the tax is estimated to generate $65 million in revenue, according to Rumsey.
Simulescu predicted low voter turnout for this election that will probably be lower than what it was for the last city council election. He said that for anyone supporting this, it’s really important to vote and bring one or two people with you because there may only be 800 total people voting.
District No. 1 county commissioner Scott Goad said the county has the same problems.
The costs are not going down,” Goad said. “Fuel has doubled. Material has doubled and it’s a very bad situation.”
Chamber of Commerce executive director Janet Reed asked why there is a 25-year sunset for the tax.
“That was my question and everyone said we probably couldn’t get it passed if we make it permanent,” Tucker said. “I wanted it to be. The need’s not going to go. We’re always going to have a need unless you think Durant is going to start to melt and disappear. I don’t. I think Durant’s going to continue to grow and continue to be vibrant. I think all those needs for capital are going to be there forever. That support should be there forever but again, we negotiated it for 25 years.”
Simulescu said that a previous tax election that did not have a sunset was not approved by voters so that is the reason a sunset was put on this one.
Reed said she had received phone calls from people who were concerned the proposition was too loosely written to make it legally usable for these exact things.
“What makes it legal is the proposition you vote on in that ballot box, if you read that, it specifically says this money has got to be for infrastructure,” Rumsey said. “It lists all of it, wastewater, stormwater, water improvements and roadway improvements.”
Tucker said the council cannot change what is approved by voters.
“Once that’s voted on, that’s the law,” he said.
This past Tuesday, after the Democrat’s press time, Durant City Council had a town hall meeting to talk to residents about the election.