FAQ

Registered voters who reside within the city limits of Bartlesville will have the opportunity to decide funding for several proposed community projects and other improvements during elections set for August 25, 2020. Voters will decide passage of a General Obligation Bond Issue and an extension of the half-cent Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) sales tax. 

• • ONLINE VOTER TOOL

• Friday, July 31 is the last day you can register to vote in the election.

• Tuesday, August 18 is last day you can request an absentee ballot (we urge you to request it earlier and mail it in with two stamps by August 11 if possible).

• EARLY VOTING is Thursday and Friday, August 20 & 21, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the County Election Board.

• ELECTION DAY is Tuesday, August 25 with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

No. Approval of these projects will not result in an increase in taxes. G.O. bonds are funded through ad valorem, or property taxes, which are paid by Bartlesville property owners. CIP funds come from the half-cent CIP sales tax. The City’s mil levy would remain at 15 with approval of the G.O. Bond Issue, which would have no impact on ad valorem taxes. Approval of the CIP extension would result in no change in sales tax. 

Voters will consider projects proposed for G.O. Bond funding in four categories: Public Safety Buildings and Equipment, Municipal Buildings and Equipment, Streets and Bridges, and Parks and Recreation. G.O. Bond projects total $16.4 million, which includes the “cost to issue” the bonds (COI), and will be issued over a period of three years. CIP projects total $13.7 million. Approval would extend the tax, supported by voters since 1990, for another five years. 

At any given time, the City of Bartlesville has a working list of capital needs that total over $100 million. City staff and citizen committees narrow the list and then the City Council is tasked with determining the bond amount and deciding which projects will be put before voters in an election. This process was recently completed, and now it’s time for the voters to decide. 

The funding breaks down as follows:

• Public safety buildings and equipment — $6,326,500

• Municipal buildings and equipment — $4,686,500

• Streets and bridges — $13,373,500

• Parks and recreation — $5,353,500

• Drainage — $375,000

Oklahoma law requires that 70 percent of the projects in each category be specified in the ordinance calling for a G.O. bond election. The law also requires that these projects be completed with the bond funds. The remaining 30 percent are “discretionary” and do not have to be specified in the ordinance, nor is completion required. However, the City of Bartlesville has completed all projects identified as “30 percent projects” in the past. While this law does not apply to the CIP election, the City handles these projects in a similar manner in an effort to simplify the process as much as possible and maintain complete transparency.

While this law does not apply to the CIP election, the City handles these projects in a similar manner in an effort to simplify the process as much as possible and maintain complete transparency.