CLAREMORE, Okla. — With one election in the rearview mirror, Claremore is already thinking about another. The city is placing sales tax on the April 1 ballot and asking voters to raise it by a penny.
If Claremore voters pass the measure, the total burden for shoppers like Mike would rise to 10%.
Claremore’s population of 20,000 is comparable to several other Oklahoma cities. None of their sales tax burdens total 10%.
| CITY | STATE TAX | CITY TAX | COUNTY TAX | TOTAL BURDEN |
| ALTUS | 4.5% | 4.13% | 1.13% | 9.76% |
| EL RENO | 4.5% | 4% | 0.35% | 8.85% |
| DUNCAN | 4.5% | 3.5% | 0.7% | 8.7% |
| DURANT | 4.5% | 4.38% | 0.5% | 9.38% |
| S. SPGS. | 4.5% | 4.05% | 0.37% | 8.92% |
Claremore resident Andi Knox says she’s feeling the pinch of inflation. Evidently, so is the city of Claremore.
City Manager John Feary sent 2 News a statement.
“This initiative is designed to support general fund revenue, empowering the City Council to allocate resources strategically to areas of greatest need,” Feary said, “Claremore’s three percent sales tax allocation has not been adjusted in over 30 years.”
A spokesperson for the city said Feary was, “not quite ready to do interviews,” on the topic.
“I don’t like the idea of it, but we do need to fix our roads,” Claremore resident Mike Covington said, “Our roads are notorious here, they’re terrible.”
Meanwhile Knox thinks the prospect of raising taxes, just doesn’t fit Claremore’s spirit.
“It’s not Wall Street here, we need to treat Claremore like small town Oklahoma,” Knox said.
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