“As a conservative Republican it is very difficult for me to ask for a tax increase, but I think the benefits will come back 10-fold. The effects will go way beyond my lifetime. It will help Tulsa compete for jobs, conventions and young professionals. Our kids and grandkids will look back and see how important this was for the whole area.” - Tulsa County Commission Chairman Randi Miller By David Jones Is the timing right to vote on a tax package to develop the Arkansas River corridor in Tulsa County? Tulsa County Commission Chairman Randi Miller is confident that when the proposed .4-cent sales tax is presented to the people it will be resoundingly accepted. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor also thinks the time is right. “We have been working on and planning this project for years,” she says. “It’s time to stop studying and do something.” As for the decision of the County Commission to have a vote Oct. 9 Taylor said, “The election is totally at the discretion of the County Commission. This is a project that is truly a regional project. The biggest concern we have to get an educated workforce to move to the area is the quality of life. With the Bank of Oklahoma Center and the development of the river, this area will be ready to take off.” “Polls taken toward the end of June showed a narrow victory for the proposal,” Miller says. A poll recently published in the Tulsa World disagrees, showing a majority of voters opposing the project. Read more...

Labels: Kathy Taylor, Randi Miller

Posted at 8/20/2007 02:21:00 PM