By Carol Cole
Transcript Staff Writer

Norman voters’ rejection of the city’s proposed temporary half-cent sales tax didn’t surprise many people.

But the resounding, confidence-shattering two-to-one defeat did.

Many Norman leaders have hypothesized as to why the sales tax was defeated Aug. 22, with the loudest, most stubborn refrain that the primary reason it went down was the lack of specific ballot language. Language on the ballot indicated the funds would be spent on “any lawful general purpose of the city.”

But many voters found other things not to like about the sales tax measure, with the measure not winning a single precinct. And lots of those reasons were different.
Some cite the city not locking down how much would go to police and fire with others objecting to the vote on the heels of recent votes to increase water rates and a vote for the University North Park Tax Increment Financing District No. 2.

Others mentioned it was a temporary tax that would fund permanent jobs.

The economic development portion inspired “no” votes in some, with some citizens philosophically opposed to the basic concept of economic development, others wanting it on a separate vote and others wanting it also spelled out more specifically in ballot language.

The Norman city council passed a resolution before the vote to adopt a plan developed by City Manager Brad Gambill to hire police officers, firefighters and other key city personnel. An emergency reserve fund would have been created with $1 million annually.
Another $1 million annually would have gone to economic development. That would have consisted of $2 million for a Software Development Center that potentially would have been matched with another $2 million in state Star Bonds. Funds would have gone for a revolving loan fund to advance funds in the Quality Jobs Act program, training and a closing fund.

“I guess we as the business community did not educate the community enough about that particular portion of it,” said Steve Corley, president of the Norman Chamber of Commerce.

“But even if there had been no economic development earmarked — from that resounding defeat, I’m not sure how much that mattered. I think it may have failed anyway.”
The chamber board, although it endorsed the sales tax vote, was divided as well, with two-thirds voting in favor of the endorsement and one-third against.

“There were so many reasons that people gave for voting against it,” Corley said.
A group formed to oppose the sales tax vote, the Citizens for Responsible Government, came together primarily because of the lack of specific ballot language, said its chairman, local retired attorney Larry Edmison.

“So some of us were of the feeling that we wanted it more clearly specified in the ballot initiative that a certain amount would go to police and staff; some of us in the group were concerned that it should have been a permanent fix, instead of temporary. So there are a variety of reasons why the group was involved,” Edmison said.

Edmison cited Ward 4 councilmember Cindy Rosenthal’s comment that a ballot is also a conversation between the public and the council, and pointed out that the problem with this ballot was that it combined subjects.

“But it’s my sense that the economic development piece probably played a significant part in the vote. That’s just my sense,” he said.

Some of the people in the group didn’t want any tax money spent for economic development.

“Certainly at least this point, given how much is riding on the TIF, they don’t think it’s appropriate to put more into it. And I would throw myself into that group,” Edmison said.

He said some of the group believed that if tax funds were to be spent on economic development that it should be a separate vote.

“No it’s not just an absolute, ‘hey we’re against using tax money on economic development,’” Edmison said. “I think there’s a good number of people who voted against it who didn’t like feeling trapped into voting for economic development if you wanted the money for police and fire.”

And he it was likely there were people who believed exactly the opposite.
“I’m not sure it’s a clear cut picture why people voted no,” Edmison said.
He said the group is committed to providing the city input to draft a sales tax initiative that he believes could pass.

“We don’t like to be in the position of opposing it,” Edmison said. “We really don’t.”
Norman Chamber of Commerce executive director Anna-Mary Suggs said she believed an excellent economic development package was put together by Don Wood, executive director of the Norman Economic Development Coalition.

“You have to be proactive,” Suggs said about economic development in today’s environment. “I think it’s a combination of misinformation coupled with people who just don’t like economic development. Either they would just like Norman to stay as it is or people who think it’s a really nice community. … They just don’t realize how competitive it is.”

“I think the hard thing to explain to voters is the importance one job or 50 jobs or 100,000 jobs has,” Corley said. “All of these people buy groceries and homes and things.”

Wood said he believed Norman voters would vote in favor of economic development, but that more education on the subject is needed. He said all a lot of people got in the recent election was the “sound bites.”

“I don’t believe that economic development was the albatross that killed the issue as many want to paint it to be,” Wood said.

He said he is perfectly willing to put together an economic development package that would stand on its own as a ballot initiative.

Wood said he doesn’t understand how people don’t understand the TIF No. 2.
“I’m blown away that people don’t understand the TIF. They don’t understand what’s being paid for in the TIF. They do not understand by the time we pay out $100 million, as these guys have said, that we’ve gotten $100 million in new taxes that will go to the taxing entities,” Wood said.

He said it’s not a giveaway and that it’s dollar for dollar that the city will get new tax monies from the TIF. But he acknowledges that the TIF probably helped defeat the sales tax.

“I think (economic development) got confused with other issues like the TIF. And that’s how you defeat an issue. You raise doubt. You confuse people. They are not clear, so the safest route to take is to vote no,” he said. “It was a very complicated issue.”

Wood said the opposing groups are extremely polarized, an unfortunate thing for the city.

A sampling from the city of Norman’s Web site at www.NormanOK.gov of the more than 240 e-mailed responses on the sales tax vote shows strong objections to vague ballot language, with mixed responses on police and fire and economic development.

Little objection has been received by the city so far on building of the city’s emergency reserve fund with $1 million annually of the revenues.

“I voted yes, but specifically mandating what the money would be used for,” wrote “Joe.” “X number of police, fire and other public safety positions and most critically, I think you need to do a better job educating citizens about why we need economic development money. Show them what Moore is doing and why they are kicking our butt … if you educate the people, I believe they will make the right decisions … telling them to just trust you, that you will do it all right is not going to cut it.”’

But dozens of others wrote that they opposed any economic development included. Many others said it should be on the ballot in a separate initiative.

Some of the online input on the sales tax showed misunderstandings of other recent actions taken by the council, most often the University North Park TIF District No. 2.
“Reverse the TIF decision at the North Park,” wrote one e-mailer.

Others apparently didn’t understand how a TIF District works, but knew they didn’t like it.

“It will never have my support,” one person wrote. “Cut funding 50 percent to the TIF and you will have the needed funds you need to hire the needed personnel.”
One anonymous woman living in far east Norman wrote that they need more than one police officer in the area near the lake.

“Neither my husband nor I would vote yes on the ballot as there was no wording in the proposal that the additional tax would actually go toward police and/or fire,” the woman wrote.

Several mentioned Oklahoma City’s success in selling voters MAPS and MAPS for Kids.
“It works when you sell specific needs,” an anonymous e-mailer wrote.

City leaders have said they may bring another sales tax initiative forward at the March 6 municipal election, after studying why this initiative failed.