Muskogee County voters heading to polls to decide on new sales tax for public safety | News [Video]

MUSKOGEE COUNTY, Okla. — On Jan. 14, voters in Muskogee County will head to the polls to decide whether to pass a sales tax for public safety.

If voters approve the proposition, police, fire, sheriff, EMS, emergency management and the 911 center will all operate under one roof.

“I honestly believe this is the most important vote that I’ve seen in my 37 years at the Muskogee Police Department,” Muskogee Police Chief Johnny Teehee said.

If the Muskogee County Public Safety 2025 proposition passes, the roughly 0.8% tax would fund shared police, fire and emergency services projects. Those projects are expected to cost $60 million.

Once the projects are completed, the tax would drop to 0.5% to fund EMS and public safety. The current county sales tax rate is 0.65%.

If the proposal passes, the new rate would be 1.499% for the first 7-10 years, then the new rate would …