LAWTON — Officials want to hear residents’ thoughts on spending about $5.4 million in unallocated funds from the city’s PROPEL Capital Improvement Program.
The Lawton City Council hosted a public hearing on the subject April 25 but did not make any decisions, as the council must conduct a second hearing before deciding how to proceed.
The city’s finance department estimated that the city would collect $23.5 million in CIP sales tax revenue for fiscal year 2022-23, but the actual number is about $28.9 million. That means the city will likely take in $5.4 million more than the finance department originally predicted.
If CIP sales tax collections for any given year exceed $23.5 million, the council must seek public comments on how to spend the money. The city has two options: Roll the money into the budget for the coming fiscal year or use the funds on CIP projects.
The $5.4 million is not extra money but inflationary funds resulting from the difference between the city’s original estimates and the actual amount, said Mayor Stan Booker. He said the money will be spent only on projects listed in the CIP.
“We would not be able to do them if it wasn’t for this additional income coming in,” he said. “We would not be able to keep our promises to the citizens.”
The CIP lists a variety of projects that could be funded with the unspent dollars, including road upgrades, water and sewer system improvements, youth programs and retail developments.
Lawton resident Gloria Mercado said the city should consider using the money to build a new animal shelter, because the current shelter is not large enough to accommodate both stray and adoptable animals. She said a new animal shelter is not specifically mentioned in the city’s list of CIP projects, but it would qualify for CIP funding as an upgrade to city buildings or facilities.
“It would also provide improved quality of life to animals in the facility, as well as reduce the euthanasia rate by allowing more animals to be placed for adoption,” Mercado said.
Marcia Cronk, founder and president of the Comanche County Pet Resource Foundation, said the city should take steps to improve conditions at the current shelter.
Marcia Cronk, founder and president of the Comanche County Pet Resource Foundation, said the city has a problem with stray animals. She urged the council to take steps to address the problem, including upgrades to the current animal shelter.
“This is a national movement, and it’s time for the city to get involved in that and improve the conditions at the animal shelter,” she said. “And that goes with increased budgeting, increased support.”
CIP projects
After the public hearing closed, some council members weighed in with their thoughts on how the money should be spent.
Councilwoman Linda Chapman said she would like to see the council earmark some of those funds for maintaining city-owned buildings.
“We need somewhere, with the budget, to figure out how we can fund these and keep on funding them and maintaining them and having the resources necessary,” she said.
Councilman Kelly Harris said his constituents think the city should spend more money on road upgrades. He noted that the city does have a plan for street repairs, and residents who want more information about a specific street should contact their council representative to see if their street is on the list.
But Harris said the council does not have an unlimited pot of money to spend, even with the inflationary funds.
“Even if we spent all the money on roads, that would get us about five miles of road,” he said.