Poindexter Unsure On Tax Passage

County Commissioner Bruce Poindexter said he was unsure if the proposed half-cent sales tax election Aug. 9 would pass. His comments came following the regular weekly meeting of the Delaware County Commissioners Monday.
"The Sheriff asked us to put this up to the voters and we did, and I really was not sure if it would pass or not," he said. "But since Grove has started to make a lot of noise about it, there is reaction in the rural areas and if they get out the vote, it might pass now, " he added.
When asked what the Commissioners would do with the extra $700,000 the Sheriff's office now gets from property taxes, he said courthouse employees would probably get a pay increase and he would favor spending a good portion of it on roads in the county.
The current Sheriff's budget for 2005-06 is around $700,000 but the new tax will generate approximately $1,200,000 per year which Sheriff Jay Blackfox wants to use for equipment and salaries for additional deputies.
The Aug. 9 ballot reads, in part, "Shall Delaware County, Oklahoma, be authorized to levy and assess a one-half percent of one percent of county sales tax through not later than December 31, 2010...said tax to be levied upon the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from all sales taxable under the Oklahoma Sales Tax Code....to fund the operations of the Delaware County Sheriff's Department..."
If the election passes, the total sales tax in the county would go to 9.4%, one of the highest in the state. Cost of the election will be $7500, said Poindexter, which will be paid by the Sheriff's office.