The City of Broken Arrow is on a fact-finding mission to discover which projects voters would like included in the 2026 General Obligation Bond package.
Last summer, during the budget process, the City Council authorized the administration to begin working on the initiative that the City will present to Broken Arrow voters in April 2026.
This General Obligation Bond package will include various projects similar to those from 2011, 2014, and 2018, according to Michael Spurgeon, Broken Arrow City Manager.
Spurgeon provided a bond update to the City Council during their regular meetings on February 4 and 25, and he will continue giving bi-monthly updates on the bond process through April 2026.
Currently, the staff is determining how much money that the bond will generate to pay for the projects that are being proposed without raising taxes. The projects that will be included in this bond package will be completed with the tax rate that is currently in place .
"We'll actually have an idea of what that will probably be sometime in August 2025 when we get our last assessed value before the vote in April 2026," Spurgeon said. “The Council has made it clear that they do not want a change in the tax rate.”
The bond process will require a great deal of participation from the community. As such, in addition to the bond updates at the City Council meetings, there will be additional surveys such as the upcoming Parks and Recreation Survey, public forums, and meet-and-greet opportunities with the City Council in various locations throughout the community.
Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks has spent over 40 years on the City Council and the Planning Commission.
“I’ve been a part of several bond issues in the City of Broken Arrow," he said. "The City Manager does an excellent job of making sure everyone knows what’s going on not only in terms of the amount but also in making sure that the taxes are not going to increase. Even in the selection process, he’ll make sure everybody is involved. I think it’s great because so many people will be involved, and it will happen with the people’s knowledge.”
Councilor Lisa Ford agreed and said the transparency aspect of the process is very important.
“I really appreciate it,” Ford said. “I know it takes a lot of your time and your staff’s time, but it’s important. It’s important to our citizens. We need to know what they want because we’re voting on it.”
Following the Council’s authorization last summer, City leaders began meeting with the City’s user groups—people from the organizations that use the facilities, such as sports, community, and arts and humanity groups.
“We also began the survey process to determine how the city is doing according to our residents, number one, and secondly, to start gathering input on what projects and initiatives they would like to see us improve on such as roads, parks, city facilities, and public safety,” Spurgeon said.
“It’s critically important that we have input from the citizens on what we decide here and what’s in the city's best interest,” said Councilor Justin Green. “I am grateful that you and your staff are doing the work now in advance and not just waiting for the public meetings.”
Engagement is key. Green says it’s essential for everyone who wants to have a voice to go and take the surveys and come to the meetings. If you would like to participate in upcoming surveys, such as the upcoming Parks and Recreation Survey go to BrokenArrowOK.gov/signup and get involved.
Through the various surveys, public meetings, and interaction with the directors of the organizations who will be responsible for implementing the programs, City leaders are learning what kind of improvements are necessary in the coming years.
An internal subcommittee has also been assembled to plan for the next 14 months. They will meet in early March and focus on putting together a tentative list of projects for a review and an engagement schedule for the City Councilors.
“The focus will be to put together the projects that came from user groups, the original surveys, directors, and comments from the public for the City Council to review,” Spurgeon said.
The City Manager says he and the City Council are very excited about the process and what these improvements will mean for the community, but it won’t be easy.
“We’re going to have to make some decisions on the number of projects because the cost of the projects is going to exceed what we are going to have,” Spurgeon said. “We’re going to have to make some tough decisions because there’s some great projects.”
The goal is to begin those discussions once the budget is finalized in June.
“We won’t know until December what the City Council will officially approve,” Spurgeon said. “Getting input from the public forums and surveys will drive everything into a formal package that the City Council can submit to the voters next year. The citizens input will be very important.”
Spurgeon and the City Council take public ideas and concerns seriously when compiling this list of bond projects.
“Most importantly, what would the public like to see?” Spurgeon said. “You want to build something supportive of everyone, so we need that information.”
Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks said that when Spurgeon came to Broken Arrow, he noticed too much lag time from when the bond packages were approved to when the projects began.
"He told the Council that we have too many projects from the bond issues in the past that aren't getting done," Parks said, referencing Spurgeon’s arrival in 2015. "He changed and increased the staff to get the things in the bond done because that was what the citizens had voted for. He's done an excellent job at that."
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