GRADY COUNTY
OKLAHOMA CITY – The City of Chickasha has committed approximately $250,000 to an economic stimulus program that features a one-time $50 payment to local households.
The program is open to people who live within the municipal boundaries of Chickasha and have an active residential utility account for water, sewer or solid waste collection with the city. A water meter for an irrigation system will not qualify for the stimulus program. “It has to be a residential account,” City Manager John Noblitt said.
Multiple utility accounts under the same name “will be assumed to be rentals,” the program stipulates. Any resident listed on a rental agreement for the address will receive a payment. If no rental agreement exists for a piece of rental property, it will be considered a commercial account and no check will be issued.
A resident must complete, get notarized, and return an “Economic Development Incentive Agreement” to City Hall before the $50 stimulus check will be issued. The letters can be mailed, delivered in person, or deposited in the drop box for utility payments. The city will cross-reference the letters against accounts “to ensure they’re valid,” Noblitt said.
The city has about 6,000 utility customers, he said.
In the incentive agreement, the applicant pledges to spend the money only at “business facilities located within the municipal boundaries of Chickasha...” Online purchasing with an incentive payment “is strictly prohibited,” the agreement declares.
“Under penalty of perjury,” the applicant swears to “abide by the ... terms of the Economic Development Incentive Agreement.”
The City of Chickasha actually has no way to enforce that requirement. However, “I’m taking you at your word,” Noblitt said. “We trust that our residents are honest when they sign that statement, because it’s a contract.”
The incentive program will continue through the end of the year, he said. “Our residents who are most impacted by the coronavirus are not comfortable about getting out and about just yet,” he explained.
“The purpose of the program is not just to stimulate Chickasha’s economy, but also to provide some much-needed funds to those who need it.”
The Economic Development Incentive Program is being financed from economic development funds, Noblitt said. The program ultimately will distribute approximately $250,000 in economic development funds that the city collected “in about 2005-16,” he said.
The city manager said a conversation he had with Mayor Chris Mosley led to the incentive program. “At a time when everybody is struggling, is there a way we can take those economic development dollars and apply them to our citizens?” Noblitt wondered. “We understand this is a hard time and we hope this little bit helps.”