Broken Arrow Leaders Focus On Business, Population Growth

Since 2010, the population of Broken Arrow has grown by more than 15 percent. More than 320 manufacturers also call the city home, growing about 6 percent every year.

Wednesday, December 11th 2019, 7:07 pm

By: Erick Payne

Broken Arrow city leaders and business owners met Wednesday to learn about the State of the City.

The city's presentation at the chamber meeting went over all the improvements across BA. It included the public schools, the Rose District, and business growth. They also talked about what they want to work on in the next year.

Broken Arrow's population has skyrocketed over the last several years, and so has the number of manufacturers in town. So, Broken Arrow city leaders say, BA is doing more than okay.

The focus this year is on the growth and progress the city has made.

Since 2010, the population has grown by more than 15 percent. More than 320 manufacturers also call Broken Arrow home, growing at about 6 percent every year.

City Manager Michael Spurgeon says the sales tax revenue is right where they expected it to be this year, and so financially they're doing well.

"And then the fact we're seeing tremendous growth in our private sector," Spurgeon said.

He says economic development is his priority, along with public safety.

"The reason being is that the growth that economic development administration creates is really the fuel that drives the cities engines," Spurgeon said.

They gave a record number of 530 building permits this year for single family homes, and nearly two dozen permits for businesses.

"That tells you right there that the private sector believes Broken Arrow is a great investment," Spurgeon said.

The city also has about $117 million worth of projects being planned, or already underway. You can see it happening in places like the Rose District, with a streetscape project on Main Street and new apartments being built.

"What you're doing is increasing the daytime traffic needed to support those businesses, and so to us it's a win-win. The city's investment there is less than $800,000, and our return - you can't even really measure it," Spurgeon said.

He says a big focus in 2020 is to get people to shop locally so the city can benefit from sales tax revenue.

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