Why [I'm] Not [For] This MAPS

Top 6 Reasons I'm Voting No.

1. Whose projects are these?- The projects listed are a wish list for city council members; the convention center, Oklahoma River, and downtown park are project most citizens will not benefit from directly or use with any real frequency, however developers will. According the maps.org website the #1 concern for OKC citizens was an improved mass transit system (668 requests); the mass transit included will only cover downtown. However a new convention center will be built at a cost of $280 million dollars (twice the sum allotted for mass trans).

2.The City Needs Money For Other Projects- The city manager sent a memo to all department heads telling them to cut their budgets by 2% for the next fiscal year. If the city has to cut maintenance budgets, who's going to upkeep the improvements to the Oklahoma River additions. If the police have to cut their budget, who's going to patrol the new 70 acre park we're creating. The police and fire department have seen increases of less than 1% while the population has grown by 15%.

3. Hurting the Poorest Citizens- Sales taxes are regressive, and its estimated the poorest 60% of OKC citizens pay approx. 6% of their income in sales tax, while the richest citizens only pay 2%. Off the $777 million only $160 million will be spent outside of downtown. The $130 million dollar downtown park could pay for nearly 1000 state-of-the-art neighborhood parks (or at least prevent many parks from closing and reopen closed parks) (source: Oklahoma City Herald).

4. Socialism for the Rich?- This will be the second time the citizens have funded private project with large tax subsidies. We are currently paying a 1 cent sales tax to pay for the Ford Center (at the cost of mass transit); Clay Bennett could have easily had investor pay for the renovation. The fairgrounds already receive hotel sales tax and generate a considerable amount of income; let the State Fair Trust pay for their upgrades.

5. Best time?- Natural gas prices are down; Devon loped off a few stories on its tower and Chesapeake has greatly slowed is expansion. Unemployment, while comparatively low, is rising and tax revenue is down and has been for some time. Will sales tax really generate that much? Conventions are on a downturn and recent building sprees have saturated the market.

6. Big Questions- The ballot is simply to approve a sales tax, there is little check to make sure that projects won't be cut or that money is spent correctly. A citizen's advisory board will be selected by... the mayor (that's checks and balances). There is no timeline or deadlines for this project and little information available.

http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/5040/Default.aspxReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQBzAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwAyADkA

http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/pubmtgframe.aspx?meetid=821&doctype=AGENDA
http://killthemapstax.com/No__Top_10_Reasons.html
http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/4716/Default.aspxReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQBzAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwAyADkA#sur
http://nomaps3.com/

My Blog Post

MAPS 3?

MAPS 3 is a $777 million dollar proposal to revitalize the city. The original MAPS from the early 90's made Oklahoma City what is today. The Bricktown Canal, Ford Center, Ballpark, Downtown Library, renovation of the Myriad (Cox) Convention Center, and the creation of the Oklahoma River through the construction of damns and reshaping of a stretch of the North Canadian River among other projects were the result of the first MAPS project. Paul McCartney concerts, Olympic rowing trials, a minor league baseball team, and an NBA franchise would have never happened without MAPS. The success of MAPS, which passed with approx. 60% approval, is an undeniable success. the next MAPS project, or MAPS for Kids, passed with an overwhelming majority early this decade. The complicated funding structure will enable all 75 of Oklahoma City Public School buildings to be rebuilt or renovated, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars for capital improvements in surrounding suburban districts. I add all of this background information to set up the next phase of MAPS; obviously MAPS has been successful, prompting cities across the nation to attempt to copy it, so it would be foolish to be against a similar plan. Right? I mean it wouldn't add any new taxes, the $777 million would come from an extension of the already existing sales tax (approx. 8.4%, relatively low).
My reasons for not giving support (notice, not opposing) lie in the details. I full heartedly agree the city, while it has come a long way, needs massive capital infusions to become an even better city. However the way the $777 million has been allocated is major issue. According to a study conducted by the city itself, mass transit was the most requested item for a potential MAPS 3 initiative. There were 668 requests for some form of expanded or new mass transit, no other single item garnered more than 200 requests, quite clearly there is a pressing desire for mass transit. The need is arguably the same Oklahoma City's bus system has been called the most inefficient in the country, and has been named the number one most pedestrian unfriendly city in the country. Why then is the largest individual sum of money going for a convention center, $280 million? This is twice the sum of the amount given to mass transit, a new convention center is not even in the top ten (40 requests). The $130million for mass transit will only cover the downtown area, and only one mode of transportation. The number one rule of electoral politics is give the people what they want. If you think you know better, the voters will prove you wrong. While the convention center may be outdated, I am tired of funding private ventures to make wealthy people even wealthier. We already paid for Ford Center upgrades at the cost of bus funding. Cox Communications, Devon, Chesapeake (well maybe not Chesapeake), OKPUB, OG&E, numerous private companies can fund a new convention center. Maybe it's time to provide something the majority of citizens could use. Even with the proposed additions we would still not be close to the top of peer cities in terms of floor size. Studies have shown cost of travel and new technologies has caused the convention industry to shrink.
That's my two cents, rant, whatever you wanna call it. I'm only asking to think and consider strongly what we are voting on. Gazette surveys are not boding well for the election, I think the people of the city, the ones who care to vote in the election any way, want the city to go forward but disagree with the way the mayor and city officials are trying to go about it.


http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/4349/Default.aspx
http://www.maps3.org/factsheet.html
http://www.maps3.org/index.html
http://www.okc.gov/maps3/
http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/4716/Default.aspx