The city of Tulsa wanted to charge sales tax during the Tulsa State Fair, so councilors voted to annex the Fairgrounds, forcing vendors to charge three cents more per dollar on every purchase.
Councilors got what they wanted.
Now, since the Fairground is in city limits, county officials want city cops to provide the bulk of the policing for the 11-day fair – the biggest event in the city.
Tulsa officials say no.
The county sheriff says it costs about $300,000 for him to add deputies during the Fair. Estimates say Tulsa will realize about $350,000 from the Fair in new taxes.
It just seems fair that if you are deliberately annexing the Fair, you should provide the necessary policing.
When city officials brag about the success of the downtown arena, they don’t mention that the police have spent more than half a million dollars in overtime pay for events at the 18,000-seat arena.
If you go to the dance, you have to pay the fiddler.
If Tulsa didn’t want to provide routine policing during the Fair, the councilors should not have annexed the Fairgrounds.
It’s that simple.
Tulsa police said they would respond to emergencies at the Fair and they say they would work the Fair if they were paid a fee.
All this is due in part because Mayor Kathy Taylor doesn’t work well with other people. She thinks she is CEO of Tulsa and everyone – including other layers of government – must bend to her demands.
This should be a lesson to any other area that is considering petitioning for annexation by the City of Tulsa.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 and is filed under Editorials.