May 11 – Preparation for a new wastewater treatment plant, plus more money for street improvements, water and tourism are part of Muskogee’s proposed 2024-2025 city budget.
The City Council will hold a public hearing and vote on the proposed $107 million budget on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The FY25 budget includes $6 million for the wastewater treatment plant, said Tera Shows, City of Muskogee communications director.
“This is for the engineering and design phase of the plant,” she said. “This will be a multi-year project.”
The council had discussed planting needs at its November 2023 meeting. The factory dates back to the 1950s and has undergone only periodic upgrades since then. It is the only municipal sewer facility in the state that uses a trickling filter system, city officials said.
In 2021, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality issued a consent order citing more than 24 ongoing violations at the city’s sewer plant. The DEQ had previously issued a consent order in 2017 after exceedances were reported due to the loss of “two of the plant’s three drain pumps.”
Catastrophic flooding in 2019 and a freezing winter storm in 2021 exacerbated the problems.
City Manager Mike Miller said the city budget “includes more money than ever for street projects.”
The strategic plan includes more than $10 million for streets for the second year in a row.
This year’s projects include street rehabilitation in the city’s southeast zone, as well as stormwater street projects along North Country Club Road.
Budget proposals also include more money for improving water quality and replacing water pipes.
“We also continue construction of more than $45 million in capital projects in our water mains, water treatment plants, pollution control facilities and collections,” Miller said in a strategic plan.
The proposed budget includes an additional $1.5 million for tourism, a 51% increase over FY 2024. By 2025, the city will transfer all hotel/motel tax revenue to the Muskogee Tourism Authority for use.
“Our hotel-motel tax increased in FY 2024, allowing MTA to work with partners like the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, War Memorial Park and Three Rivers Museum, and many others to encourage tourism in the city of Muskogee,” Miller said . in the outline of the strategic plan.
At the council’s recent budget cut, MTA Director Marlon Coleman, former mayor of Muskogee, asked that all tax revenue from hotels and motels be allocated to the MTA, “so that we can support all expenditures related to tourism.”
The city’s proposed budget also set aside $1.5 million for economic development. The strategic initiative noted that the city will continue to help fund industrial and economic development partners at the Port of Muskogee and Main Street Muskogee.
The economic development budget also includes an effort to eliminate food deserts in the southern part of Muskogee and expand retail sales.
“Public and private initiatives will be critical as we move forward in this area,” Miller said.
The overall budget includes $44.6 million for the general fund. During the budget retreat, Miller said more than two-thirds of that will go to employee compensation.
The budget also includes:
* $50 million for capital projects and special revenue funds.
* $4.1 million for corporate funds.
* $7.8 million in internal service funds.
* $402,000 for the sinking fund.
Also, $24.8 million will go to the Muskogee Municipal Authority (water and sewer) trust and $40,000 to the Muskogee Parking Authority Trust.
Miller said budget money has been set aside for salary increases for employees.
“In our capital budget, we are prioritizing expenditures that focus on facility maintenance, including upgrades to seating in the civic center and safety measures at city facilities,” Miller said.
