Midwest City’s State Rep. Gary Banz doesn’t know what’s exactly in store for the upcoming legislative session but he is sure another tough round of budget cuts is in the state’s future again this year.
As the filing deadline was the week of Jan. 13, Banz said no one can predict what bills will be voted on or what will surface as the most controversial bills until session has begun.
Rep. Banz of District 101, though, talks about the things he’s been hearing so far this year.
"The tax issue that was tossed out by the Supreme Court as a violation of the single-subject rule, will probably be a topic of conversation. The Speaker is pretty much on record as favoring it and the Governor has backed off of it," Banz said.
Reduce pension debt is listed as the No. 4 item on Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller’s policy goals for 2014.
Oklahoma Educators Association and Keep Oklahoma’s Promises (a coalition of present and future pension beneficiaries) are expressing extreme misgivings about the stated plan.
This week is the filing deadline for all state legislation. Despite not knowing the full text of any bill pertaining to pension reform, activist groups and unions such as the OEA are fighting the concepts for change being discussed.
"First of all our pension system works," OEA President Linda Hampton said. "It is definitely not broken and the Teacher Retirement System has outperformed 99 percent of other systems in the United States and it’s in the best shape it’s been in 20 years."
In his Economic Report published Dec. 31, Miller outlined the problems he sees with the current structure of the pension program.
Del City council members turned down a rezoning request Monday, Jan. 6 after more than 20 concerned citizens showed up to protest changing 401 S. Sooner Road from residential to commercial.
Proponents of the rezoning cited the city’s comprehensive plan to turn all of Sooner Road into commercial space as the basis for their request, they reported during the rezoning hearing.
Heather Hancock, an owner of the property in question, said she has redrawn plans in order to meet community requests that promise commercial property and office space with limited traffic.
"This rezoning would be light commercial, for example office, medical and light retail," she said.
Industrial parks are a dime a dozen across the country but ones that offer railroad access are scarce.
On Monday, the City of Midwest City broke ground on the new Soldier Creek Industrial Park, which will cost $2.6 million to develop but $1 million is being funded by a federal grant.
City leaders were joined by U.S. Rep. James Lankford and other local legislators in the groundbreaking ceremony. Lankford was one of many legislators that helped push along the project and receive federal assistance.
Lankford said for the homes in the area of the park (NE 23rd and Air Depot/Midwest Blvd.) what is coming in the days ahead are jobs.
"This is how it starts," the congressman said, referring to the city’s work to install sewer and water lines.
The controversial A-F report grading system was the center of debate Tuesday, Nov. 19 during a meeting hosted by the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) at the Deer Creek Administration Building.
And, by the end of the almost-hour event, the overflow audience and discussion panel members came away with one thing in common.
There is still a wide divide whether the new system works or needs to be changed.
"I think there is a philosophical divide (about the grading system)," said panel member Joel Robison and chief of staff for the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
PLAC is a nonpartisan group with the goal of increasing parent and community awareness about legislative issues impacting public education in Oklahoma.
More than 75 people were on hand to hear Steven Crawford paint a financial picture of Oklahoma’s education system during an hour-long talk Tuesday.
Mid-Del Public Schools hosted the second meeting of the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee, in which Crawford was the guest speaker.
Parents were joined by educators and administrators in attendance from various metro school districts.
Crawford, executive director of both the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Association and the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators, explained the logistics of how school districts receive funding and from what sources. He listed ad valorem taxes, county 4 mill, school land, gross production, motor vehicles, REA tax and state aid as sources.
The search is over for Choctaw's new city manager.
On Wednesday, June 20, Choctaw councilmembers interviewed four finalists for the position and ended up instructing Mayor Randy Ross to offer Roger Nelson, 48, the job and to handle contract negotiations.
The council's decision, though, is not final until they approve Nelson's contract at their July 10 meeting, Ross said.
Once that happens, the mayor anticipated Nelson's first day on the job to be Aug. 6. He will replace Robert Floyd, whose contract was not renewed this spring by councilmembers after working with the city for 25 years.
Currently, Nelson is the city manager in Clyde, Texas, a city of about 3,700 people located just outside of Abilene. He has worked in Clyde since September 2009, but the city leader started his career in Warrensburg, Missouri.
From 1989 to 1992, Nelson served as the assistant to the city manager and then city manager in 1992 to 1994 in Missouri. He then moved to Grapevine, Texas where he worked as assistant city manager from 1994 to 1997 and city manager from 1997 to 2005.
State Rep. Gary Banz scored a landslide victory over Republican challenge A.J. Bailey Tuesday with 85 percent of the vote in the GOP primary.
Banz will face Democrat Stephen Colvert in the Nov. 6 general election for House District 101.
"I'm honored that the Republicans of House District 101 chose me to represent the citizens of Eastern Oklahoma County at the State Capitol." Banz said.
Banz has represented parts of Eastern Oklahoma County since he was first elected to the House in 2004.
Republican incumbent Brian Maughan earned another four years in office Tuesday when District 2 voters re-elected him as Oklahoma County Commissioner.
Maughan defeated fellow Republican Gordon Jeney, of Harrah, receiving almost 75 percent of the vote with 5,549 ballots cast in his favor and 1,863 for his challenger.
Late Tuesday night, Jeney told EastWord News the primary was an "up-hill battle" since Maughan was the incumbent and heavily involved in the Republican Party.
