City election set for Feb. 9, 2016

Ponca City’s Board of Commissioners voted Monday night to call a special election for Feb. 9, 2016, seeking to extend the city’s Street Sales and Use Tax indefinitely.

The tax was first approved by voters in 1987 and has been extended every time it has come up for renewal over the past 28 years, City Manager Craig Stephenson said Monday. If voters approve extending the tax indefinitely, he said residents in the future will be assured of having money set aside for street and sidewalk improvements.

Since the tax was first approved in 1987, it has raised $51.2 million, Stephenson said, with $47.2 million spent on street and sidewalk projects. In addition, the fund has been leveraged to qualify for $10 million in additional grants for street and sidewalk work.

In another measure, commissioners also set Feb. 9 as the date for the 2016 mayoral election. The filing period will be Dec. 7-9, 2015.