City Of Broken Arrow Preparing For 2026 Bond To Pay For Improvements

The City of Broken Arrow is already starting work on a 2026 bond to pay for city improvements. The general obligations bond package could total around $300 million.

Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon said that while 2026 is still two years away, there is a lot of work to be done before the bond package can go before the voters.

Many important projects come out of these bond packages. In 2018, a bond paid for fire station seven, the new senior center annex, and Elam Park which is under construction now.

Spurgeon said in order to get the 2026 bond package ready, the work has to start now. This includes going to community partners for project ideas, getting input from citizens on which projects are important to them, trimming the bond package down, and taking the bond package to council.

"Once we have all their input, then it becomes, 'What does a community think are the priorities?' And the way we will do that once we have project estimates, we will start doing some surveys and asking the community what they believe the priorities should be," Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon said getting citizen feedback on which projects is important to them is important to the city so Broken Arrow can try to maintain a great quality of life for the people living there.

"We got to look at all of these and see exactly what would be the most robust, comprehensive package. That’s going to do one thing and that’s maintain the great quality of life here. The only way to do that is to start now and make sure the citizens have their opportunity to provide input over the next two years," Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon said he wants citizens to be engaged throughout the whole bond process. He said the best way to do that and make your voice heard is to pay attention to emails from the city, keep an eye on the city's social media, and take surveys regarding potential projects.