Variety of topics come before council

By Mike W. Ray Staff Writer

Miscellaneous topics discussed Monday night during The Village City Council meeting were the annual city budget, speeders, and the OKC Pride Parade.

Karen Benson asked the council to consider adding a stop sign at Andover and Stratford.

“That area has become a ridiculous speedway,” she said. There’s a crosswalk along with a stop sign on one side of the intersection but not the other, “so drivers just ignore the one that’s there.”

“We will register this with our traffic department,” Mayor Bubba Symes vowed.

City Manager Dave Slezickey gave the council an overview of the proposed $33.5 million city budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24.

“Do we have enough income without dipping into our reserve funds?” the mayor asked.

“We do,” the city manager replied.

Councilwoman Melodie Moore announced that she participated Sunday in the OKC Pride Parade on NW 39th Street, “and I wanted you to know how welcoming everyone was,” she said. “I walked 18,000 steps yesterday.”

“I have a trans brother in Tulsa” and several other relatives who are gay, she

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From Page 1 churches, parks, and the State Capitol Complex.

Nevertheless, more than 22% of the total ad valorem property tax base among the 77 counties of this state is in Oklahoma County, Stein said.

More than 82% of the Oklahoma County budget is created by property taxes, he said. And the Oklahoma County jail is the only one in the state whose operations aren’t financed with a sales tax, he said.

The Oklahoma County Assessor’s Office is responsible for “accurate- said. “LGBTQ+ individuals are people, too.”

Wynn Construction crews were busy Tuesday laying a stormwater drainage line between the Bruce K. Stone Municipal Building and the pavilion that’s under construction to the east in The Village. The new line will route runoff rainwater from the City Hall complex and the pavilion area to the drainage channel on Vineyard Boulevard.

“I have a gay son” who lives in California with his partner, Mayor Symes said.“It’s been interesting. It’s been eye-opening. We love them both.” ly determining market values for more than 325,000 accounts,” Stein said.

The Village has a “significant” gay community, Councilman Sean Cummings said.

By law the county assessor is required to conduct a visual inspection of every piece of property once every four years.

“We’re conducting about 87,000 field inspections every year, with a staff of fewer than 40 people,” he said.

The assessor also told about a new service –“alert.okcc.online” –which will “notify you if anyone files with our office a document that contains your name.” The service is intended to deter and expose fraud, Stein said.

He related one such incident that occurred in The Village.

A woman who previously lived in The Village moved to California 20 years ago but maintained ownership of her house. Her brother was driving by the house one day and saw a couple entering the residence. He stopped and asked what they were doing.

“We just bought this house!” the excited couple said.

Someone had filed “a fraudulent deed with a fraudulent notary,” Stein said. Consequently, the woman’s brother “had to hire an attorney and go to court to get the property back.”