City of Claremore residents will vote on a one penny sales tax measure on April 4, 2023, as part of the city’s regular general election. If approved, the measure will allocate restricted funding to meet the growing needs of Claremore’s public safety programs through the Claremore Police Department and Claremore Fire Department.

City Manager John Feary will host a series of public meetings in February and March to address questions about the measure beginning with the Claremore Chamber’s State of the City address on Feb. 16.  A full schedule of meetings will be posted online at https://claremore.com/city-managers-office/ when finalized.

“If approved, this one penny measure will provide critical and protected funding to meet our growing public safety needs,” said John Feary, Claremore City Manager.  “Additionally, it gives us more flexibility in our general fund to focus on improving our electrical infrastructure along with needed streets, water and sewer updates.”

The City of Claremore currently has a 3 cent sales tax which provides funding for streets and infrastructure (1 cent) and the Claremore Expo and wastewater treatment plant (1 cent).  The third cent is split among capital (equipment) expenditures citywide (40%), police (20%), fire (20%) and parks (20%).  If approved, the fourth penny would provide additional funding for police and fire only.

Over the last 22 years, Claremore Police Department call volume has increased 27 percent, but the department has only added two officers in 2022.  Over the last 10 years, Claremore Fire has averaged more than 2,000 calls annually.  Feary added that “both the police and fire departments lack the staffing and resources to meet this growing demand.”

The current sales tax in Claremore city limits is 9.33%, which incorporates 3% for the city, 1.833% for Rogers County and 4.5% for the State of Oklahoma. In the summer of  2023, the Rogers County rate will decrease to 1.5% due to the retirement of a court judgment.  If approved, the new City sales tax rate of 4% will be effective July 1, 2023. Once the Rogers County rate is decreased, the new effective sales tax rate for Claremore city limits will be 10 percent.

“If the citizens of Claremore were to pass this initiative, the cost to individuals would be an additional dollar for every $100 spent on taxable goods,” Feary added.

At the Claremore general election, citizens will also vote on five city council seats and the office of the Mayor. More information about Claremore is available online at claremore.com.