CLAREMORE, Okla. — The City of Claremore is looking to pass a penny sales tax that will go solely to police and fire services. Voters will head to the polls on April 4.
Whitney Eidschun’s a frequent customer at Green Eyes coffee shop in Claremore.
“I have a brother who’s a firefighter and a brother who’s a cop, so I get it," Eidschun said.
She’s neutral to the measure given inflation.
“It’s a penny on top of multiple pennies that are already accumulating," she said.
If approved, the measure will allocate funding to Claremore public safety programs given the growth.
According to the City of Claremore, the police department’s call volume has increased 27 % since the year 2000. Plus the average response time for firefighters is almost four mins.
According to the US Census, Rogers County is the sixth fastest-growing county in Oklahoma. As sheriff of the sixth fastest-growing county, Scott Walton says any Oklahoma community would be happy to get more first responders.
"I don’t know any agency right now that’s overstaffed or adequately equipped," Walton said.
Claremore currently has a 3.0 percent sales tax rate, with comparable size cities in the four and five percent bracket.
There will be four more opportunities for residents to voice their opinions and hear from city leaders about the Claremore penny sales tax. The next one will be on March 7 at 6 p.m. at the Claremore Conference Center.
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