Election 2026

Bond programs are funded by property taxes; however, the 2026 bond won’t raise property taxes. The average rate, 15 mills, will remain at the same service level. About 12.4% percent of your property tax goes to the City of Bartlesville, and the rest goes to schools, the county and other government entities. For example, the owner of a $130,000 house pays about $20 monthly for the City’s portion of the property tax. The City uses the money to pay for bonds.

During a General Obligation (G.O.) Bond election, voters decide whether to fund major infrastructure projects across the city. G.O. bonds are municipal bonds that allow state and local governments to raise money for projects that may not generate a direct revenue stream – like building and rebuilding streets, bridges, sidewalks and more. This type of bond is one of the City’s most important tools to maintain and expand its infrastructure and relies on property taxes for funding, and Bartlesville’s strong credit rating means it can issue bonds at low interest rates for a sustainable and efficient funding source.

Property taxes finance G.O. bonds, which voters approve for specific capital projects. It is a common misconception that property taxes help pay for the City’s core services. Although this is true in many states, cities and towns in Oklahoma are not allowed to levy property taxes for day-to-day operations.

Learn more about how the City is funded HERE and HERE.

• For G.O. Bond elections, the funding is issued in traunches over the duration of the bond term. Therefore, some projects are funded the first year of the term while others are scheduled for funding in subsequent years.
• For Half-cent CIP Sales Tax elections, projects are funded as tax revenue becomes available over the duration of the CIP term.
• The design phase for most City projects is six months to one year.
• There is not enough City staff to facilitate all of the approved projects at one time.

More information on this is available HERE.

No. The preventative street project in question involved crack sealing, application of aggregate chip seal, application of HA5 and striping on some of the city’s most heavily-traveled roads. While the process, called a Bonded Matrix Overlay (BMO) or Cape Seal, has been used extensively in other areas of the country, it had not been used locally before last summer.

The purpose of the BMO, and even HA5 on its own, is to extend the life of the roadway, saving taxpayers money in the long-term, not necessarily to improve the ride or appearance of the road surface. While the BMO will do what it was intended to do, neither the public nor City staff were satisfied with the chip seal portion of the process or the appearance of the final result due to the chip seal.  We are satisfied with the HA5 used without the chip seal that was applied on Johnstone between Fourth and Fifth streets as a test case for future use on other low speed areas such as residential streets.

The treated roads will last longer at a lower cost than other methods, but due to the above reasons, the City will not do a project using the chip seal like the previous one again.

It is important to note that Preventative Street Maintenance projects extend the life of the road and provide greater cost efficiency for residents. For these reasons, they are a great use of taxpayer funds and are important for keeping our city streets in the best condition possible.

City staff is actively working on these efforts, but we are not yet in a position to designate funding for this item. Additionally, the City Council established a Capital Investment Fee many years ago to help fund projects of this nature.  Bartlesville utility customers contribute to this fund through a fee included on their monthly utility bills. These revenues are used for necessary infrastructure improvements and to pursue additional water resources.

Additionally, different sections of the same street may appear to be a duplicate, as well as Pathfinder Parkway improvements. None of these are duplicate projects.

City staff will compile a proposed projects schedule based on the projected bond sales and sales tax revenue over a five-year period. This list will then be reviewed and approved each fiscal year by the City Council. These projects are discussed during meetings that are open to the public and are publicized each year in the City newsletter, City Beat, and on the City website, www.cityofbartlesville.org.

Absolutely! All G.O. Bond, sales tax and project information is contained in the City’s annual budget and audit reports. See www.cityofbartlesville.org for more information. And if you have a specific project in mind, let us know and we’ll track it down for you!