YOUR VIEWS
Worthwhile investments
Oklahoma City voters have an opportunity Tuesday to choose if they want better streets and a safer city. Annual surveys of residents consistently rank the need for improving streets and public safety as priorities. The challenges of maintaining our streets and policing a city covering more than 620 square miles are greater than most major cities.
An independent staffing study of the Oklahoma City Police Department revealed a significant need for additional officers to address the public safety needs of a city experiencing growth in population and calls for police services, as well as becoming an entertainment destination for a growing number of visitors.
The ballot provides our community with the opportunity to fund repairs to many neighborhood streets through a 27-month continuation of the expiring MAPS 3 penny sales tax. The 10-year, $967 million bond package will provide for improvement of roadways and basic infrastructure such as a new police/fire training facility.
The ballot also gives voters a choice of a permanent quarter-cent sales tax to hire 129 desperately needed police officers to patrol neighborhoods and 57 firefighters to staff new fire stations that will improve response times for emergency service calls.
During my 40 years with the city, I’ve been witness to a highly functional and trustworthy municipal government that has consistently and responsibly identified community projects and staffing needs worthy of our residents’ consideration. The projects on Tuesday’s ballot are no different. I urge residents to vote to decide these future investments.
Bill Citty, Oklahoma City Citty is Oklahoma City police chief.
Public being misled
As the deadline draws near for the current MAPS penny tax, Oklahoma City’s voters are being asked to vote Tuesday for another extension — this time for street improvements. Since 1993 when the MAPS plan began, we have become accustomed to this 1-cent additional tax. My concerns are in the way the public is being misled. One television commercial begins by stating that Oklahoma has the eighth-worst roads in the nation. This may be true, but the 1-cent sales tax will be used for Oklahoma City roads, not state roads. The commercial also doesn’t state anything about the additional permanent quarter-cent sales tax for public safety
departments.
I agree that our citizens and visitors need to feel safe with adequate firefighter and police personnel. However, our city’s public schools need additional teachers to provide quality education to its students. Although educators pleaded with the city council to include this in the penny tax, it seems that once again education is not being seen as a priority by our city leaders.
Judy Mullen Hopper, Oklahoma City
Why no public transit piece?
Where is public transit in Oklahoma City’s latest tax proposal? The return on this investment is a high priority for citizens and potential out-of-state employers, but apparently not for city planners and elected officials. Why?
Phyllis Bryant, Bethany
Work upstream
“Athletes’ stories help break stigma about mental health” (Our Views, Sept. 3) is an important reminder that even those we see as heroic can be broken, and so appreciation goes to the decision to cover this issue. The editorial mentions Jerry West, NBA hall of famer. His childhood adversity (an abusive father) left him vulnerable to depression. Adverse childhood experiences are unfortunately all too common, and do leave kids vulnerable to a wide range of negative outcomes. Oklahoma has an alarmingly high rate of kids who have experienced such adversity (abuse/ neglect/family dysfunction). These are children who will struggle not just emotionally, but will have an array of biomedical issues, as well as behavioral problems. Furthermore, they will not do well in a classroom, where learning is to occur in the context of a relationship. If a teacher is overwhelmed by the number of kids in their class, a child with such vulnerabilities has very little hope of learning. We are ultimately left with a prison system full of people who have not had the necessary support to overcome or at least cope with these adversities.
What I cannot understand is why our state doesn’t see the importance of working “upstream,” and finding ways to enhance the protective factors that would save lives as well as untold dollars.
Harrison Smith, Oklahoma City
How about some U.S. tests?
It appears North Korea is going to continue testing various nuclear weapons and missiles. Maybe the United States should test our defense missiles and shoot down one of their weapons.
Jim Dixon, Oklahoma City