Reinvesting in Our Owasso

The most pressing question facing our community today is how to make Owasso a continuing attractive investment. That question should be the one that every homeowner, business, and parent continually ask.  Owasso’s next generation will depend on today’s leaders to lay a strong base for their future.  All growing cities have discussions relating to the value and method of growth and reinvestment; and reinvesting in infrastructure is a key component to an effective and efficiently managed city.  Owasso is a rapidly growing community and it is understandable that such a discussion is occurring.  I would encourage that discussion to be a positive one that focuses on how the public policy relating to reinvestment can best produce long term benefits for citizens of today and tomorrow.

The city’s position regarding reinvestment and fiscal soundness is the two are closely linked and to have one, the other must be present.   A bold approach to improving our quality of life by providing better and expanded public services also works in establishing a sound financial position for our city.  Just like a business or a home, a city must have a certain level of reinvestment in order to maintain the soundness and value of the investment.

Often the decision for a city to reinvest is difficult because of the political and financial risk involved.  Owasso, like every city or family, has an abundance of needs and limited resources to apply to those needs.  So, it is only natural that when faced with a decision to invest tax dollars into a project that provides solutions to meet short and long term needs as well as avoid future problems, there will be discussion about whether or not the decision is a good one.

Over the years, Owasso’s leaders have recognized the need for reinvesting in facilities and infrastructure.  Their bold action initiated the effort to invest in getting an expressway (1963), provided a long term water supply (1968), allowed for expanding water and wastewater thus enabling major residential development to occur east of US 169 (1974), allowed for the construction of the first wastewater treatment plant (1988), expanded E. 86^th Street North to five lanes producing the major business corridor (1990), reconstructed the E. 96^th Street commercial corridor (1998), and invested in expanding the US 169 service road system (2006).

The strategy of reinvesting in our infrastructure has a demonstrated history of success.  By any measure, the citizen–taxpayer has received a good return on their investment.  A low crime rate is one of those “returns” and is the direct result of increased police department funding derived from revenues generated by sales taxes from a growing commercial base.  Expanding our road and utility systems enabled that growth and will continue to produce benefits far beyond the initial investment.  Similarly, other critical services including fire, parks, and storm water have been improved and expanded as a result of our strategy to reinvest in infrastructure.  

We have also learned from our mistakes and have refined our approach to ensure there is fairness inherent in our investments.  An example of learning from mistakes can be found in the recent case of the E. 76^th Street Sanitary Sewer Interceptor Project.  The estimated $6,000,000 project will provide adequate sewer service to over three thousand acres of future Owasso for the next seventy-five to one hundred years.  When developing the financial model for that project, the city looked at the Ranch Creek Wastewater Interceptor built almost thirty years ago with public funds.  Based on a review of data it is obvious that private developers have continued to “tie” their developments to that sewer line as recently as 2008 without having to help pay for the original capital cost of constructing the line.  Even though the decision to invest in Owasso’s future by building that sewer line was a proper one, current thinking is that there should have been some form of developer “pay-back” so existing citizens would not have to pay for the cost of growth for new residents.

Because of that “lesson learned”, the city is moving forward to build the E. 76^th Street Sanitary Sewer Interceptor by providing, as we did with the Ranch Creek Interceptor, the “up-front” capital cost but requiring anyone that connects to the system to pay their fair share of the total cost of constructing the line regardless of how far in the future that connection will be made.  Another lesson learned is to require that payment prior to any connection.  That evolution in the process will allow the city to continue to reinvest and produce more opportunities for better services without excessive risk to the taxpayer.

It is important for a city that values the investment of its residents to remain vigorous and make wise decisions.  A sound reinvestment strategy is critical to the long-term viability and fiscal soundness of our Owasso.  It is important that we remain unsatisfied with a “just maintain the status-quo” philosophy and that we not be placated by our successes or lose the drive to improve.  The goals the city has achieved have been reached by focusing on the future and recognizing how we can be better tomorrow than we are today.