Edmond’s $231 Million G.O. Bond: A Historic Investment For Community Growth

Edmond on the Go, it’s a slogan the city is using to educate voters about a $231 million G.O. bond program up for vote. The funds would improve roads, and parks and replace an old fire station.

“This is a historic moment for the city of Edmond,” Mayor Darrell Davis.

Mayor Davis is optimistic about the projects on the upcoming ballot. “This is an opportunity for the citizens of Edmond to invest in their community,” said Mayor Davis. 

If approved, the general obligation or G.O. bond program would fund 15 road projects at $151 million. 

The second largest portion of the funding would improve parks at $70 million and the third item on the ballot would replace the city's oldest fire station at $10 million. The last time Edmond voters approved a G.O. bond was in 1980. “It’s a truly tested vehicle that has been used throughout this region of Oklahoma,” said Mayor Davis.

A vehicle that will drive up property taxes by 14.3 percent based on your assessed value even if you have a property freeze. For example, if your home is valued at $304,000, you would pay around $40 tax a month. “You can have a different opinion on any one of those but if any one of those passes, your property tax goes up almost 15 percent,” Brian Shellem, Edmond voter. 

Others opposed to the propositions say the city should find other funding options like sales taxes. “You live on retail sales tax so put in an IKEA, put in a Trader Joe’s, put in a Costco, put in a Bucees,” said Chip Moles, Edmond voter. “These are cash cows, this is how the city needs to fund itself.”

Lydia Lee says she’s concerned for those on fixed or low incomes. “This tax is going to hit you hard,” Lee said. “ I think there are other ways to improve the roads. I think there are other ways to do what they want to do on this list of projects and property tax that impacts the property owners in Edmond is not the way to do it.”

The mayor says if the bond does not pass, those projects are still on the list to complete. It would just take longer. 

The city says if any of the three proposals pass, Edmond property taxes will go up the same amount. The duration of those taxes would be shorter, however, depending upon the dollar amount of the projects authorized by voters.

For more information on the G.O. Bond, click here: https://www.edmondok.gov/1911/Edmond-on-the-GO