CREEK COUNTY — Creek County voters will have the opportunity to continue a one-third of one percent sales tax dedicated to maintaining and improving county roads and bridges, or not.
The measure set to be on the Aug. 25 ballot will be asking voters if they want to continue the existing sales tax once the current tax expires at the beginning of next year. If approved, the tax would remain in place permanently.
According to the example ballot, revenue from the tax would be used for “constructing and maintaining roads, bridges, and improvement to the County Highway System,” and could also be applied toward principal and interest payments on indebtedness incurred for those purposes.
Creek County Commissioner’s Office employee Dana Logsdon encouraged voters to support the measure in a post on her personal social media account — emphasizing that the proposal is a continuation rather than a new tax.
“This is NOT a new tax,” Logsdon wrote. Logsdon said Creek County encompasses approximately 970-sq. miles and that the monthly revenue provides funding for road materials including asphalt and gravel as well as some salaries for employees working on county roads.
She listed the sales tax as generating an average of $233,104.44 per month for the county’s highway departments across all three districts with 20 percent or $46,620.89 going to District one and 40 percent or $93,241.78 each going to Districts two and three.
Logsdon noted the expense involved in maintaining the county’s extensive road system average cost of a mile of road is approximately $300,000 currently.
“Much like food and fuel, road materials are costly,” Logsdon wrote.
The ballot language specifies that the sales tax revenue can only be used for purposes directly related to the county highway system and associated indebtedness.
The Aug. 25 vote will determine whether the existing one-third of one percent sales tax continues beyond its scheduled expiration date of Jan. 1, 2027.