The Oklahoma State Capital

GUTHRIE, Okla. — A recently defeated Logan County commissioner caught local residents off guard on Tuesday with a tax increase plan to raise $14 million in new taxes.

With no forewarning or public discussion, Meadows unexpectedly requested that the tax plan be added to the commission's Monday agenda. The request was officially made public on Thursday, the 29th, less than 48 hours after Meadows' loss to Guthrie's Floyd Coffman in the Republican runoff election on the 27th.

Meadows had not mentioned the tax increase plan during his re-election campaign—a brutal affair in which Meadows referred to Coffman as a "charlatan" after Coffman encouraged commissioners to hold off on Meadows' plan for new equipment spending. That plan will place Meadows' and now Coffman's District 2 into significant debt over the next few years.

It is that same spending that Meadows now cites as necessitating the new tax hikes. He told commissioners that District 2 has $18,000 in monthly equipment costs and that much of the new tax revenue would allow him and the other commissioners to pay for equipment fees.

During the summer, District 3 Commissioner Monty Piercy had voted against allowing Meadows to take on the new spending commitment. However, Meadows and District 1 Commissioner Mark Sharpton voted for the spending—a decision that led Coffman to accuse Sharpton of "collusion" with Meadows. Coffman claimed Sharpton had told him he, Sharpton, "owed" Meadows when Coffman asked Sharpton and Piercy to delay the purchase until after the election.

On Monday, Meadows told commissioners that his new tax plan would generate $4.2 million for each of the three commission districts and another $1.4 million for county building renovations, totaling $14 million in new taxes.

Meadows' proposal comes as commissioners are in the process of liquidating a large fund of COVID money, from the federal government—several million dollars—to remodel a new county government building. In supporting the liquidation, Sharpton had dismissed the suggestion that the money would have been better spent on road improvements rather than new county offices.

Meadows' tax hike plan also comes as county property valuations have soared past half a billion dollars for the first time in the county's history, driven by rapid growth in the southern regions of the county. Meanwhile, the county's annual budget and property tax collections have also reached new heights.

Additionally, a large reserve appears to have accumulated in District 3's road fund account.

Earlier this year, commissioners had already voted to forward a sales tax extension proposal to the voters. That proposal, which Meadows strongly endorsed, asked voters to extend county sales taxes for an unprecedented 15 years.

Piercy, opposing Meadows' latest tax plan, pointed to the earlier proposal as the reason the timing isn’t right to pursue an additional sales tax.

Piercy told Meadows that if the county were to ask for a new sales tax, it should have been done earlier in the year when they sought to extend the existing taxes.

"You are fixing to go out of office in December. Ain't something I would support," Piercy told Meadows. "I mean, I think the timing is off; I think the economy is bad."

"I don't think we need to ask the citizens of Logan County for more taxes so we can have better roads. I think the legislators need to change the law so that we are not building sidewalk trails and walking trails in Edmond for four and five million dollars. I think we have the money; we just need to re-route it. It's something that I won't support."

"I think the money is there. The legislators need to fix this problem, not the citizens of Logan County," he added.

Sharpton also suggested the timing wasn’t right for the new tax package.

"We are having a bad time; you know that the economy is bad times," he said, later adding, "The citizens have been generous to us, I believe, with the current tax we have."

Meadows acknowledged that the people might not support his plan. "People might vote it down. You can't catch fish if you don't go fishing," he stated.

Had it been approved, Meadows’ plan would have increased the county’s sales tax from 0.75% to 1.75% for two years. This adjustment would have brought Guthrie’s combined tax rate to 10%—a notable first for the community—and established a higher rate than what businesses face in Oklahoma County, where there is no county-level sales tax.

Meadows, for his part, has previously acknowledged the potential challenges posed by higher sales taxes on Guthrie businesses. In 2014, he publicly opposed a City of Guthrie sales tax proposal, stating:

Years ago when Guthrie sales taxes went to 9.5%, our family quit shopping in Guthrie. When the tax began to come down, we started shopping Guthrie, again. We live south of Guthrie proper. It is easier for us to head north from our home to Seward and I-35 rather than having to go south and deal with the horrific traffic at Waterloo and I-35. However, if Guthrie again raises its sales taxes above 9% we will again quit shopping in Guthrie. While the city will see increased revenues if this tax increase passes, local businesses will see some drop off in sales as I will not be the only one to stop shopping in Guthrie.

Although Meadows’ proposal is not advancing at this time, other approved measures will soon affect the local tax landscape. Multiple fire districts and Guthrie Public Schools have recently secured voter authorization for higher property tax levies, and these changes are slated to take effect in the months ahead.

In Other Action

Commissioners received a funding request from Dee Miller, the proprietor of the About Face nonprofit program. Miller stated that she had been asked to lead the program by District Attorney Laura Thomas. The project rents a house in Stillwater and works with Thomas to divert female offenders—facing 10, 15, or 20-year prison sentences—into a one-year stay at the residence, followed by a six-month follow-up period. Participants will receive various resources, ranging from career training to psychological, mental health, and substance abuse services.

Meadows asked Miller if the program included a spiritual component. Miller replied that her husband is a pastor and that they could seek help from ladies at the UU—United Unitarian—Church.

Sharpton expressed enthusiastic support for the plan, stating, "I like your idea; I want to support it," and "We the people are going to house them one way or another."

Funding of potentially $14,000 would come from the county's opioid settlement funds.

Miller mentioned that additional board members, volunteers, and donations would be helpful for the program.

Sharpton hinted that Meadows, who will leave office in early 2025 after his defeat in the recent Republican primary, could be a possible board member for the About Face organization.

The commissioners will meet later this month to consider the county budget.