Those of you in the Tulsa area are likely aware that we’ll be voting on two Tulsa County propositions this Tuesday. Signs are up and the commercials are in heavy circulation. Water coolers all over town are empty from having hosted countless conversations Vision 2 conversations in recent weeks.
As I’ve at times been the media’s poster boy for the “anti-Vision” side, I figure it best to clarify my position in the few days remaining before the vote. I apologize for not doing this sooner. It’s been difficult for me to discern the best approach on this and I fear that I may have done a disservice by not being more vocal through the process. If I would have consented, our local media would have had me on TV and radio every day and I just didn’t want it to be about me. Also, many of the pro-Vision folks are taking it very personally and I’ve been troubled by the damage my opposition has caused to some those relationships.
Sadly, most people don’t even know the details about the propositions and will be voting with the TV commercials as their primary info source…and here we are, facing something that will affect the future of our city… My children will pay this tax as adults. I feel like I owe it to them to defend our great city and her beautiful potential.
Many of you who have supported me in the past have been confused to learn of my opposition. You’ve come to believe that I love Tulsa and passionate about its progress. Many of you know that I’m not some anti-tax, negative naysayer and that I was a proud supporter of Vision 2025. How could someone like me, who wants so badly for Tulsa to achieve its potential, possibly vote against a package like this?
I’ll tell you.
Here goes.
1. The deal-closing fund. (My biggest issue with it.)
- The deal-closing fund is uncapped. Both parts of the proposition that address the airport have caps, which means any excess collections automatically roll into the deal closing fund. The estimates the Vision2 folks are putting out there have that deal-closing fund at around 53 million. That estimate assumes that the years from 2017-2029 will be exactly like 2012 financially. That’s a ridiculous way to estimate that. Even assuming that a rate of inflation similar to what we’ve had over the last 12 years (remember that there was a recession or two in there) puts that deal-closing fund at an estimated 170 plus million dollars…which is a ton of money.
- I worry that the way they are planning to administer the deal-closing fund carries the strong potential to leave Tulsa underrepresented. The proposed make-up of the allocation board calls for area mayors, County Commissioners, and the Mayor of Tulsa. Theoretically, this board ends up being Tulsa against the suburbs; an all to common situation these days…and Tulsa loses in this scenario. As the city of Tulsa makes up the majority of the people in the area, it seems odd to me that suburban mayors (most of whom represent fewer people than I do) would be so well represented by comparison. Just so I’m clear, I’m not saying they shouldn’t have a voice, but it seems like the representation should be proportionate.
- I think throwing our hat in the “deal closing game” with other cities shows no leadership, creativity or vision. We’re late to the party and The Chamber is basically making the case that we should do it because other cities are doing it. I’d love to see us thinking of things that others aren’t doing. Tulsa should be leading, not following Wichita, Little Rock, Omaha and Oklahoma City. I’m not at all inspired by “catching up” to those guys. I think we have a real opportunity to do something bold with our capital project packages…I hate it that we’re doing something so utterly predictable.
- Trying to grow our city’s employment base by paying companies to come here (or buying or building things for them), ensures that we’ll attract the kind of companies who can be bought. I’m just not into building Tulsa’s economic future on the backs of companies we lured here with money. Better to meet a nice girl and settle down than to…pay for one…right? I’d rather see us be the best city in the world to start a business, grow a company, raise a family, etc. There are things we could be doing to grow new industries, support small business development, inspire entrepreneurship, etc., and we won’t have to worry about those folks packing up and leaving for the highest bidding community because they have roots here.
- Last point on this one: Does it bother anyone else that our area leadership seems to be of the opinion that the only way to grow business in our area is to pay companies to come here? It’s depressing to me…and it’s not the kind of leadership Tulsa deserves. Expect better from the people you elect…and from the people tasked with growing Tulsa’s business community.
2. The airport part.
- Our facilities at the airport are in disrepair. They’re outdated and in need of some major overhauls. I don’t question that at all and am an advocate for taking some very real steps to improve our facilities. With the unknown situation at American Airlines, I think it’s much more appropriate that we wait to see what happens. There is simply no good reason why we’re voting on this now except that the people who put it together wanted to capitalize on the community concern for job loss and the timing of the presidential election, with the emphasis being on the latter. They stated repeatedly in the two meetings I was in that the consultant said the best chance of passing something like this is in a large election. The reason being, a well-funded campaign over a short period of time can beat unfunded and disorganized opposition if you can pound the lightly informed masses with media in the weeks leading up to the vote. We rushed this whole thing so it could be on the November ballot. Nobody at the airport was pressing for this timeframe. That came straight from The Chamber. We’re talking about locking in a tax for airport improvements, primarily for a company who has a very uncertain future. I’m not worried about them coming out of bankruptcy. I’m sure they will. I’m worried that we have no idea what their future looks like, but we’re talking about investing a quarter of a billion dollars out there just in case. It should wait until we can have an educated conversation with some mutual commitments and joint goals. I don’t like it being done this way….it’s a big limb to go out on.
- People keep saying that those are our buildings out there and that we’ve failed to maintain them. I want something to be really clear. Our leases with those companies are very light…What I mean is, they either pay almost nothing or very little. In exchange for that sweetheart deal, they are responsible for maintaining the facilities. Moving forward, I’d like to see us employ a strategy that facilitates better maintenance of those properties and holds tenants to some standards. I’m okay with the low rent rate in exchange for maintenance, as long as that’s the deal we all honor. Regardless, these are things that should be worked out after the bankruptcy and with plenty of time to structure the right proposal…not like this…in the dark and in a hurry and with 99% of Tulsans asked to just take The Chamber’s word for it.
- Spirit and Navistar didn’t even ask for the upgrades. The Chamber asked them to make a list of their needs so that we weren’t just putting American Airlines improvements on a list. While there are some needs at those two plants, they were not considered to be pressing. With all of the things in our community that we could be doing to promote and encourage job growth, investing in facilities for employers who weren’t even asking for it to provide PR cover seems…
- The bonding expense is expected to be roughly 90 million. Not a joke. The revenue to pay this thing doesn’t even start coming online until 2017. That means we’ll be advance funding it…and accumulating interest for the next four or five years so that we can start making repairs, buying equipment and bribing companies immediately. Would you make that deal? Would anyone you know make that deal? There’s a reason people don’t borrow money and let interest accrue for five years before revenue becomes available to pay the note…because it’s not smart.
Here’s the thing, Tulsa is going to have to stop doing things the same old way if we want to change our current trajectory. We’re heading for population stagnation, economic decline, and a sprawl-driven hollowing out of the core city… (Dire, right?!?) And all of that’s going to happen for the simple (and sad) reason that most of the Baby Boomers are going to get old and die in the next 25-35 years and they haven’t replaced themselves. What I mean is, their children have left and are leaving. Why? Because Tulsa does very little to attract or retain young people. When the Baby Boomers go, they take their money with them and right now we literally can’t afford to lose them. That generation drives the spending in our region and the loss of them will mean very bad things for us. Cities everywhere are starting to realize this and are working to develop more efficiently, build their urban core, create and develop a lifestyle that welcomes young people and develop and promote new industry with a different future in mind. Tulsa, however, seems set to double down on our past instead of appropriately preparing for the future. I’m not suggesting we neglect the important industries we have here, but we owe it to our kids to have a more futurist perspective and to “diversify our portfolio” a bit today while we have the chance. Mostly, I just think we can do better…and that we should do better.
Please feel free to follow up for clarification where I inevitably failed to be clear. I’ll post about the Proposition 2 “way of life” part tomorrow if I have time.
Blake I agree with you! Greg Bledsoe
Amen, brother.
Well said. In total agreement.
Wow.. A political person who has common sense.. How refreshing.. Probably too smart to run for Mayor but would love for him to think about it.
Thanks, Blake. I know you’ve been busy getting the Phoenix ready to open, and your voice on this issue has been missed until now. Mayor Junior is telling everyone we’ll lose 25,000 jobs if Vision2 fails.
One more detail worth mentioning: County commissioners have said they won’t release the funds if they don’t get iron-clad commitments from the beneficiary companies. If the authority that oversees the Prop 1 money can’t come to terms with the intended recipients, if American, Spirit, and Navistar don’t want the strings that come attached to the improvements and equipment, guess where the airport improvement money goes? Into the deal-closing fund. (Read the ballot resolution carefully. There’s no minimum amount that they’ve promised to spend on the airport.)
Blake, we thought we might take a moment of your time/space in your comments section to clarify a few pieces of misinformation. We hope you appreciate the value of public discussion.
To be clear, we (Vision2) have provided many venues for people to learn about Vision2. A website, Facebook and twitter account, conveying and collecting information in public meetings and it has been reported on extensively by the local media. To say most people don’t even know the details is a bit misleading.
We are glad you were a supporter of Vision2025 and we are sure you have financially benefited from its passage. In fact, many small business owners like you have. A number of businesses downtown have been very supportive of Vision2 and they know what investments in our city have meant to them. Vision2 continues these efforts well into the future. While you look at it as a tax which our children will be responsible for paying, we look at it from a bigger picture – Vision2 will help our economy our children and grandchildren will get to enjoy jobs with a good salary and finally get to look at water in the river. Overall, we all will benefit from the community improvements.
The deal closing fund is important to Tulsa, but to question whether leadership is focused on a variety of efforts to grow business in Tulsa is again a bit disingenuous. You are personally involved in several public/private partnerships which promote economic development – from the largest of businesses to new business owners. If memory serves, you were the winner of one of these efforts. The deal closing fund is just one part of an arsenal of efforts to keep Tulsa competitive. Oklahoma has one, Texas has one, Oklahoma City has one and it is about time Tulsa has the ability to play on a level field. To argue we shouldn’t because we are playing catch up is like arguing we shouldn’t finish a race because someone else has a longer lead. We are catching up and we want to increase our pace. In addition, fueling our economy with good-paying primary jobs helps fuel small businesses and creates a strong economy where we have variety. Businesses rely on one another; simply put, that’s economics. While there are many other things Tulsa could and should be doing, we need to take bold action to help us accelerate and keep up with the competition.
We could go point by point through the remainder of your post, but our website already answers these common misunderstandings about Vision2.
Let’s keep the momentum going and move Tulsa forward rather than join the ranks of those who did too little too late.
p.s. Regarding Tulsa population we think your facts are incorrect. We googled it and found our population in most areas is growing. You can even compare our growth to communities like Dallas and see that while they are declining in most areas, we are increasing. Tulsa is a great town and word is getting out!
Funny how Vision 2 failed to address the borrowing of the money years upfront. That is the part that bugs me the most.
Thanks. I love the public discussion. It’s not at all misleading to say that most people don’t know the details. I’m not even sure that you know the details. I get asked questions about this on a daily basis from some of the most involved and educated members of our community. To assume that your campaign adequately educated the public is as audacious as the initiative itself.
Perhaps you will address the points I made that received no reply from you. I’d love to hear your justification for the uncapped (and heavily underestimated) deal-closing fund, the rush to the November ballot, the disproportionate representation on the fund allocation committee, the lack of creativity in economic development initiatives, the problem of paying companies to come to Tulsa and their inevitable departure when someone else pays them to leave, etc.
Comparing Vision 2025 to Vision 2 is laughable. Vision 2025 invested in our urban core. It built an arena, remodeled our convention facilities, Expo Square, funded education, infrastructure, and tourism-friendly items. It was done over a substantial length of time with tremendous citizen input. I understand why you’re trying to attach the two. I would too if I was trying to sell this thing. The truth is, it should’ve been more like Vision 2025. There’s not much to dislike about investing in things that bring visitors to Tulsa, improve our education offerings, improve downtown, expand bike trails, and improve parks, especially when it’s done with citizen input and public discussion.
The population information I gave was over the course of the next 25-30 years. My source is the Community Service Council’s population report on Tulsa. I’m glad to get you a copy of that report. We’re really screwed if you guys think everything’s going just great here. Tulsa is wonderful, but there are tougher times ahead if we don’t start making some very difficult decisions about our future. Doing things the same old way is not the answer.
As for my comment about our leaders believing a deal closing fund to be the only way to attract companies, you are right. I didn’t say that how I meant it. I know that there are other economic development initiatives at play. (though I don’t know which one you think I “won”). How about this? Does it bother anyone else that our area leadership seems to be of the opinion that Tulsa can’t entice companies to locate here without bribery?
Look, I get it. It’s The Chamber’s job to develop business in Tulsa. A gigantic deal-closing fund theoretically makes the job easier. I just think there’s a better way to improve our city and build our future than by bribing companies to move here.
I can tell you as A FACT that no public discourse was allowed to slap this sucker on the ballot. The grat court of the king kounty kommissionars just sat on their thrones and put out weak excuses on why they think it should be on there…..and two of the RINOs were censured for it.
Blake, thanks for your quick response. You are correct, we didn’t respond to everything simply because much of what you outlined is addressed on our website, yestovision2.com. We have been transparent and our efforts to educate the public have been very active. All we can do is try. As you mention, it is a complicated topic and we encourage everyone to take the time to educate themselves on this issue as well as all the topics to be voted on tomorrow.
Also appreciate the clarification of you comment regarding closing fund and enticing businesses to relocate. We are all typing fast these days and sometimes what we say isn’t how it was intended. It is important to remember that none of the money would be given directly to the business. Perhaps another analogy might be whether you offering employees competitive benefits to entice them to work at your establishment is the equivalent of bribery?
Again, we appreciate your response. As we guessed, we will agree to disagree but do truly appreciate you approving our comment. We all love Tulsa and everyone is trying to do what is right for this great city. We hope Vision2 can carry the momentum forward.
We will check out the Community Service report. We were basing our on the new interactive reports via google and the census.
Regarding the award, we thought you won a Tulsey or two.
Wait.. The chamber controls the Tulsey awards and picks the winners therefore calling everyone who doesn’t get one a loser.. Thanks for clarifying..
FACT: The Chamber did not create the Tulsey Awards, nor do they organize it every year. They are a sponsor of the Tulseys. They do contribute money to it, but the Tulsey Awards are a part of Tulsa Global Entrepreneurship Week, an entity that does get funding from the city, the chamber, TCC and misc. small businesses, but none of the sponsors control it. It’s laughable that they even added that in their argument.
I don’t understand the money? I DO NOT have a problem with having a viable “move in ready” airport(s). With that, who came up with 254 million? Where is the breakdown, AND with that whom/what did the estimate(s)? I’d bet a dollar to your pizza if this passes it will be out of state contractors.
I’ve got a few rules I live by…..never play cards with a man named after a city, never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body and never, ever support anything that Dewey Bartlett, mike Neal and Fred perry have ginned up. I’ve produced actual turds with more integrity and candlepower than those clowns
Blake; as a constituent of yours, I appreciate your stand. But supporting American Airlines in any way is a mistake. According to my sources within their facilities here, they will be gone shortly. All management is moving to Texas. This facility will be sold, most likely to a division of Lufthansa. We don’t need these open-ended grants of my money to God Knows Who and What years down the road. Let us wait for four years and see what happens. I voted against both parts of the Vision…..
actually, both Blake and the Vision2 robot are right about the population. According to the last census, Tulsa county saw strong increase in population in 2000-2010 and that has continued. Tulsa city was overall was stagnant during 2000-2010. We’ve see a 1.2% in the last 2 years, which is pretty modest.
IMO, Vision2 just spreads money around too thin to be effective. For example, Vision2 funds that Gilcrease Expressway Extension. This probably needs to get build, but Vision2 provides only $5M for a project estimated to cost between $230-330M. And read Bateslines.com writings on the juvenile justice center funding. The whole thing stinks as business as usual in Tulsa…
some of the most expensive things in the kounty kourt’s 4 to fix have been shifted around or are in indefinite postponement…the juvie hall being one of them but also the PROMISED expansion of 101st/Garnett and widening of garnett up to 71st…..what a debacle. They can’t even finish the projects they got passed and started, why should we give them more money.