January 2025 Archives

Twenty-two jurisdictions -- counties, small towns, and rural school districts -- across Oklahoma had elections this past Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Just over 10,000 voters turned out statewide, casting 10,681 votes on 27 propositions (five jurisdictions had two propositions).

Twenty-four county election boards had to set up for early voting and staffing election day precincts. Cleora and Inola school districts and the city of Clinton extend into multiple counties. Two Mayes County precincts had to open for Inola Public Schools. One person showed up and voted no. Craig County had to open a precinct for Cleora schools and Washita County had to open a precinct for the City of Clinton, and no voter showed up at either precinct. The one Wagoner County precinct in the Inola school district drew five voters.

Biggest turnout: 5,379 voters in Muskogee County voted to approve a 0.849% public safety sales tax. Runner-up: 1,159 voters in Inola defeated a $62 million school bond issue 49%-51%. Smallest turnout: Town of Sparks in Lincoln County voted 8-1 for a 25-year extension of OG+E's franchise as the town's electricity provider. (Carlton Landing, Oklahoma's lakefront version of Seaside, Florida, was a close second: 11 voters voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to appoint the town's clerk-treasurer with town council approval.)

The only reason to schedule a special election in January is to hope for low turnout mainly consisting of motivated yes voters. (That gambit doesn't always work, and it didn't work for the Inola school board this time.)

Oklahoma law sets one possible election date for every month in odd-numbered years and for seven months in even-numbered years (January through April, plus June, August, November).

It's time for our legislature to consolidate elections: Every year a June primary, August runoff, and November general election. Federal & state elections in even-numbered years. Elections for all political subdivisions -- including counties, municipalities, school districts, fire-protection districts, rural water districts -- in odd-numbered years. Propositions on the November ballot only. In a true emergency, a proposition could be on another date but would need at least 50% of the number of votes cast in that jurisdiction's previous general election.

When I say municipal, I mean every city and town, including charter cities like Tulsa, Owasso, and Catoosa that currently are allowed to set their own dates. My fraternity brother Brad Waller, who is a city council candidate and former school board member in Redondo Beach, California, says that "California passed a bill (SB 415) to consolidate elections, but they forgot to specifically include charter cities." While most cities moved their elections to conform with the law, Redondo Beach did not, and the city pursued its right to its preferred dates all the way to the State Supreme Court and prevailed there. So any Oklahoma reform will need to include an explicit provision to overrule any dates to the contrary in city charters.

State Rep. Chris Banning has a bill, HB 1151, that is a step in the right direction, putting school elections on the ballot in even-numbered years and making all school board terms four years, with half of a school board's members up for election every two years.

Odd-numbered years would be better. Our federal, state, and judicial ballots are already long enough, and since City of Tulsa elections were moved to the federal schedule, city issues are overshadowed by state and national issues and don't get the public scrutiny that they got when Tulsa's elections were in the winter/spring of even years or (all too briefly) in the fall of odd years.

I would also cut some language out of section 4, so that there is always a top-two general election in November, since far fewer voters turn out for a primary, and some voters have the attitude that the "real" election is not until November, and they're content to let more active voters winnow the choices for them.

4. If more than two candidates qualify to have their names appear on the ballot, the names of all such candidates shall appear on the ballot at the board of education primary election. A candidate receiving more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast in the board of education primary election shall be elected to the office. If no candidate receives more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast in the board of education primary election, then the two candidates with the highest number of votes shall appear on the ballot at the board of education general election.

Repurposed from a post on Facebook.

Wagoner County residents face a Hobson's Choice at next month's school primary election. In November, the county settled a Federal wrongful-death lawsuit for $13.5 million. Wagoner County taxpayers are stuck with the bill, but they get to decide on February 11, 2025, whether to pay for it with a higher property tax or a higher sales tax.

On May 17, 2021, Angela Liggans, 41, was arrested for assault and battery against a police officer and was booked into Wagoner County jail. According to the complaint in federal court, Liggans was a Type 1 diabetic and was deprived of insulin by jail personnel for days. The complaint alleges that staff did not move her to emergency care despite skyrocketing blood sugar levels and hallucinations. She died at the jail 16 days after her arrest. Here is the complaint in the federal lawsuit, Liggans v. Elliott, via thetruthaboutwagonercounty.com. The lawsuit was filed by Liggans's mother, Sharon Dalton, who was appointed as Special Administrator of Liggans's estate in 2022.

The parties reached a settlement on August 16, 2024, which was entered on November 19, 2024. The county's insurance through the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma Self-Insured Group (ACCO-SIG) already paid the plaintiff $483,156.70, out of the county's $1 million maximum benefit; according to the County Commission resolution accepting the settlement, the remainder went to pay "attorney's fees and costs pursuant to the reducing liability coverage provided to Wagoner County in its liability protection plan." (Since the settlement, other parties have intervened in the probate of Liggans's estate, including someone claiming to be her common-law husband.)

To pay the settlement, Wagoner County will vote on a single sales tax proposition on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. The proposed sales tax increase is for a quarter of a cent on the dollar (0.25%) for up to 15 years, in order to satisfy the judgment levied against the county in a Federal lawsuit. If debt issued to pay the judgment is satisfied sooner, the sales tax increase ends sooner. Wagoner County currently has a 1.3% sales tax, which would increase to 1.55%, and several municipalities, including Coweta, Okay, Tullahassee, Porter, and Wagoner, would see their total sales tax rate, including state and municipal sales tax, go to 10.05%.

Here is the ballot language for the proposition:

A Proposition providing for funds for Wagoner County, Oklahoma; levying a one fourth of one percent (one-fourth cent) sales tax increase on gross receipts or proceeds on certain taxable sales; the sales tax increase to terminate on July 1, 2040 or until any debt issued in connection with said sales tax increase has been satisfied in full, whichever occurs sooner; such tax to be used to provide funds to pay and satisfy the balance due and owing on the judgment entered against Wagoner County in Case #23-CV-139-RAW-GLI in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma on November 19, 2024 by depositing said balance owed on the described judgment into the County's sinking fund to be used for that purpose and that purpose only; authorizing the payment of debt service and costs of issuance; fixing an effective date; making provisions severable.

(An election-systems gripe: The above is from a ballot image that was texted to me by someone who had received an absentee ballot for the election; the sample ballot was not available in the Oklahoma Voter Portal on Tuesday, possibly because there was an election for Wagoner County voters in the Inola Public Schools district that day. In order to look at sample ballots for jurisdictions other than my own, I have to find a voter in that jurisdiction from the voter database and enter his name and date of birth. The state election board needs to make all sample ballots directly and publicly accessible, with a permanent link for sharing, and they ought to be accessible as soon as the ballots have been ordered.)

Here is the ballot resolution, approved by the County Commissioners on December 2, 2024, which defines more precisely what Wagoner voters would be approving on February 11, 2025. Sections 5 indicates that the Commissioners intend to issue revenue bonds against the sales-tax proceeds, so there would be additional costs -- debt service and costs of issuance -- beyond the settlement itself. Section 6 means that a bank or banks in Wagoner County will get to make some money off of these revenue bonds, which would not be the case if the settlement were paid from the sinking fund.

SECTION 5. The sales tax shall be limited to a period of Fifteen Years (15) from the effective date or until any debt issued to satisfy the purpose set forth herein has been satisfied whichever occurs sooner. Any debt issued pursuant to this resolution shall allow prepayment in whole or in part at any time with excess bond proceeds or excess sales tax collection.

SECTION 6. That any debt issued to be paid with this sales tax shall be offered through the underwriter with banks located in Wagoner County to be given an opportunity to participate in the financing either through bonds purchased by the local bank or banks.

(Section 6 is missing an "or" for its "either.")

A year ago, Wagoner County residents defeated 8 tax propositions that would have made existing temporary taxes permanent, added new taxes of a half-cent on the dollar, and added a 5% lodging tax. The three sales-tax increase propositions failed by 18% to 82%.

So what happens if Wagoner County voters say no to a sales tax this time?

By state law, court judgments are paid out of the county's sinking fund which is replenished by property tax. Each year, the county excise board calculates for the county, each municipality, and each school district how much money has to come out of the entity's sinking fund to make bond repayments and pay for court judgments. They take that number and divide it by the assessed value of property in the jurisdiction to calculate the necessary increase in the property tax millage rate for each entity. Here's an example of the Estimate of Needs completed by each taxing subdivision of the state: In the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year, Wagoner County has no sinking fund at all and no levy for a sinking fund because it had no obligations to pay from that fund. Exhibit Y, on page 106 of the PDF, shows that the total valuation excluding homesteads of Wagoner County is $892,586,381, which forms the denominator for all millage levy calculations.

The settlement in the case calls for the repayment of the balance of the settlement of $13,016,843.30 "in ten equal annual installments plus post-judgment interest compounded annually on the first day of January of each year," beginning May 1, 2026, with interest accruing from January 1, 2025, 4.96% for first three payments, then 6% thereafter. If I've understood the nuances correctly, each year's payment will decrease because the interest accrued each year will decrease as the principal is paid down.

My calculations put the first payment at $2,159,583.46 and the last at $1,379,785.39. That would be the numerator for the annual millage levy calculations. Assuming no growth at all, the sinking fund levy would be 2.42 in the 2025-2026 tax year and would decline to 1.55 in the 2034-2035 tax year, a property tax impact on a $200,000 home of $51.78 in the first year and $33.08 in the last. A FAQ on the County's website estimates a slightly lower amount, $41.77 in higher taxes the first year on a $200,000 home, then decreasing over time. If Wagoner County valuation grows by 5% a year (last year's growth was 8.7%), the sinking fund levy would be 2.30 in the 2025-2026 tax year and would decline to 0.95 in the 2034-2035 tax year.

Here are the property tax rates for Wagoner County for 2024-2025. They range from 74.58 mills in the Okay School District to 129.42 in the part of the Haskell School District in the city limits of Bixby. The portion of that millage that goes into county government's general fund is 10.31 mills. Currently the county has no sinking fund nor do any of the municipalities based in the county. (Tulsa, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, and Bixby, which all have some territory in Wagoner County, have sinking-fund obligations.)

The Wagoner County website has a Frequently-Asked Questions page on the proposed tax increase, which acknowledges that each method for paying the settlement has its advantages.

Taxpayers might ask why this burden should fall on them. Well, you elected the official responsible. When it comes to the jail, the buck stops with the sheriff, who was just re-elected by Wagoner County voters to another four-year term. Sheriff Chris Elliott had two Republican primary challengers last June and was forced into a runoff with Tyler Cooper. Elliott won the runoff and re-election by just 35 votes, 4,327 to 4,292. Only Republican candidates filed for the office.

Note that the mandatory two-month gaps between filing in April, June primary, August runoff, and November general elections mean that a lot can come to light between filing and the election, too late for candidates to jump in to the race. When I was a kid, filing was in July, three months later. Perhaps we need a None-of-the-Above option on the general election ballot, to give voters a final option to say no in response to late-breaking scandal and force a special election.

There is a perverse incentive for Oklahoma government entities to settle a lawsuit: Paying for insurance comes out of the budget. Paying lawyers to defend a lawsuit comes out of the budget. Operational improvements to avoid lawsuits come out of the budget. But a lawsuit judgment or settlement comes out of the sinking fund, which does not eat into the elected officials' budget. In 2008, Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor agreed to a settlement with the Bank of Oklahoma, regarding Great Plains Airlines, that cost Tulsa taxpayers $7.1 million dollars. It was no skin off her nose when she agreed to the settlement, and it undoubtedly made her corporate cronies happy. Happily for taxpayers, the Oklahoma Supreme Court threw the settlement out, and BOK was forced to repay the City of Tulsa.

The Wagoner County FAQ addresses a couple of the obvious questions.

Why can't the county sell property or pay for it some other way?

State statute governs the way judgements are to be paid through a sinking fund. The tax levy,either sales tax or property tax, must be sufficient in itself to repay the debt. If collections exceed projections, the tax must be stopped at that time even if it is prior to the end of the stated term of the tax. The county cannot lawfully collect more than is due. The county can commit other funds (such as use tax) to the sinking fund in an effort to retire the debt early if the commissioners decide to do so.

Why can't they just take it out of the Sheriff's budget?

The Sheriff's office is a Constitutional Office, meaning it is first in the priority of funding for the county along with other Constitutional offices. The governing boards are bound by statute and the State Constitution to provide for law enforcement for the county. The Sheriff's office does have other funds by which to operate his office, however they are restricted for that purpose and cannot be used to pay for a judgement. The statutes provide for judgements to be paid for with a sinking fund instead.

Note the acknowledgment that the county could choose to draw on other, unrestricted funds (such as use-tax revenue) to pay toward the settlement and retire it early.

Ken Yazel, the late Tulsa County Assessor, was a strong advocate for the idea that elected county officials had discretion to use more of their earmarked funds to cover operation of their offices related to the earmarked purposes, thus reducing the amount of money the officials would need from the general fund, freeing general fund money for capital improvements, rather than always asking the taxpayers for more. He wanted the law to require annual county budgets to account for all funds accessible to county officials, including carryover earmarked funds. State Rep. David Brumbaugh proposed such a bill in 2013, but it died in the Appropriations and Budget Committee. I seem to recall that State Rep. Pam Peterson had a similar bill some years earlier, but pulled it at the request of county officials who promised to adopt similar reforms voluntarily.

If I were a Wagoner County voter, I would vote against the sales tax and then tell my elected officials (especially the two County Commissioners up for election next year) that I'll be watching to see if they can free up money from their budgets so that not all of the cost of this settlement falls on property owners.

Yesterday I received the sad news that Josiah and Erin Conrad, friends from Tulsa who are now living in southern California, lost their home in the Altadena wildfire. They were among many Californians who had been unable to secure insurance coverage.

Josiah was a program manager for FlightSafety in Broken Arrow. Erin was involved in Republican politics in the Oughts, then became a well-regarded portrait photographer. Eleven years ago this month, they moved to southern California and have since added two children to the family.

Three of their friends (two of whom, Connie Pearson and Jeremy Bradford, I know from local politics 20 years ago) have set up a GoFundMe to help the Conrad family recover:

As you know, the Los Angeles area has been devastated by wildfires in recent days, and our dear friends, Josiah and Erin Conrad, along with their children, Naomi and Benjamin, have lost everything. Their home in Altadena was completely destroyed, and, tragically, all of their belongings have been lost to the flames. The emotional toll of such a loss is unimaginable, but on top of that, they are now facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives without any insurance coverage. Despite their best efforts, they were not able to secure coverage for their personal property.

We know that many of you want to help, but because of the distance and current circumstances, it can be difficult to know how. That's why we've set up this GoFundMe campaign to support Josiah, Erin, Naomi, and Benjamin as they try to recover from this unimaginable loss. Your generous donations will go directly toward helping them replace what they've lost--from the everyday essentials like toothbrushes and clothing to larger items like furniture and appliances.

Additionally, once logistics are figured out, we will share a link to their Amazon wish list for those who prefer to send specific items directly to the family. Every little bit counts, whether it's a financial donation or a much-needed household item.

We wish we could physically be there to lend a hand, but this is the next best way to show our love and support. Together, we can make sure that they don't face this hardship alone.

Thank you for any contribution you can make, whether large or small. Your kindness will make a world of difference to the Conrads during this difficult time.

The fundraiser is going well. As I write this, over $90,000 of the $125,000 sought has been donated, after just four days. Thank you for whatever support you can provide.

We are in between two 100th anniversaries of the Shipping Forecast on radio. The summary of maritime weather for sea areas near the British Isles was first broadcast on the radio on January 1, 1924. It was first broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation in October 1925. The forecast itself dates back to 1861, developed by Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy and originally delivered via telegraph to coastal stations.

Beyond its utility to ships at sea, the Shipping Forecast is beloved for its soothing effect. It is read by a BBC continuity announcer at a steady pace and tone, with the names of sea areas and terse forecast terminology read at a hypnotic rhythm. The forecast is preceded by the playing of "Sailing By," a waltz by light orchestral composer Ronald Binge; the music is meant as an aid to tuning in advance of the forecast, but the sweet strings and flutes enhance the calming effect. I encountered the broadcast on my first visit to the UK in 1989, when I listened to Radio 4 throughout the day.

In the early days of BatesLine, in December 2003, I posted a self-indulgent reminiscence about a novelty song I had heard once on Doctor Demento, the Shipping Forecast set to Anglican chant, by a group of school teachers who called themselves the Mastersingers. (The reminiscence was inspired by a Daily Telegraph column by future London Mayor and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.)

That post served as a beacon, and it attracted emails and comments from people connected with the group, including Helen Keating, the wife of Geoff Keating, a member of the group. It's an interesting story with connections to Beatles producer George Martin and comedic actor Peter Sellers. I compiled that authoritative information into the definitive story of the Mastersingers, the Weather Forecast, and the Highway Code, published in May 2007. I note with some pride that it is the chief source cited by the Wikipedia article on the Master Singers. (The name of the group appears on the records with a space, but I follow Helen Keating's practice of treating Mastersingers as one word.)

BBC Sounds has a collection of programs in honor of the Shipping Forecast centenary. Be aware that many of these programs will be available online only until the end of January 2025:

• My Shipping Forecast: Leading fans of radio explain what the Shipping Forecast means to them.
• The Shipping Forecast: A Beginner's Guide: Paddy O'Connell guides us through the history and meaning of 'The Ships'.
• Sailing By: Soul Music: Stories about a piece of light music which became interwoven with the Shipping Forecast.
• Solomon Browne: Forty years on, the dramatic story of the Penlee lifeboat disaster.
• The Shipping Forecast: A Haven Illuminated: Discovering who really listens to the Shipping Forecast at 00:48 every day.
• The Shipping Forecast: Poetry Please: Roger McGough is joined by Paul Farley, sharing poems inspired by the Shipping Forecast.
• Archive on 4: The Shipping Forecast: Shipshaped: Jerry Brotton explores how Britain's maritime heritage has shaped us.
• Sea Like a Mirror: An atmospheric gathering storm of a documentary explores our language for naming the wind.
• Seaborne by Nuala O'Connor: Irish author Nuala O'Connor's sixth novel is a rollicking portrayal of the life of 18th-century pirate Anne Bonny. (Ten 15-minuted episodes.)
• The Shipping Postcards: Visits to the areas from the Shipping Forecast: Lundy, Dogger, Forth, Irish Sea, Wight. (Two hour-long episodes.)
• Front Row on the Shipping Forecast, at the Cutty Sark: Samira Ahmed with a special edition of the arts programme exploring the Shipping Forecast.

This archived Met Office article has the history of the Shipping Forecast and changes to the sea area definitions over the years.

"The Shipping Forecast - an icon of British weather and safety at sea" is the slide deck for a 2018 presentatio by Jim Galvin of the Met Office, Exeter, explaining the history and terminology of the forecast, and the importance of forecasters in the unique conditions around the British Isles. One slide shows the cones and cylinders that would be hoisted at coastal observation stations to indicate approaching gales and high winds, used before radio communications were available. The presentation explains the Beaufort wind scale, sea states (wave heights), and the meanings of the terse terms used to stay within the 380-word limit.

MORE:

Jo Ellison writing in the Financial Times:

It's always seemed one of the more yawning ironies that a nightly radio dispatch designed to protect sailors from the most treacherous stretches of water should have been co-opted by half of its audience as being the equivalent of aural Xanax.

BBC continuity announcer Viji Alles (whose radio voice I envy) offers the #ShippingForecastChallenge -- try your hand at making a recording.

As an aid to sleep, here is five whole hours of the Shipping Forecast.

Peter Jefferson, who read the Shipping Forecast from 1969-2009, now has a version featuring unusually calm conditions for the Calm app.

Recently, the Royal Museums Greenwich posted a sea areas map from 1956, placing the sea areas listed in the broadcast Shipping Forecast in the larger context of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. FAREWELL is a rather ominous name. I wonder if MILNE is meant to honor the author of Winnie The Pooh. (The map can be found here as well.)

France has its own set of sea area names, like Romeo, Altair, and Faraday. It has a Finisterre which overlaps with but is smaller than the British area formerly known as Finisterre, changed in 2002 to Fitzroy. The US has sea areas too, but they aren't geographical or poetic at all -- three letters followed by three digits.