MAPS 4 FAQs

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What is MAPS?
What's the history of MAPS?
What is MAPS 4?
Does MAPS 4 increase my taxes?
When was the MAPS 4 election?
Who oversees MAPS 4?
How does MAPS fit in to the City government’s role?
How does OKC’s sales tax compare to other cities?
Where do sales tax dollars go in OKC?
Is there a temporary penny sales tax now?
How can I stay updated?
More questions?

What is MAPS?

MAPS programs are capital investment initiatives to improve our quality of life, funded by a series of temporary penny sales taxes. The first began with the original MAPS vote in December 1993. It originally stood for Metropolitan Area Projects, but is now known simply as MAPS. Every time someone buys something in Oklahoma City, one penny for every dollar spent goes to the MAPS program. Each program has been overseen by a volunteer board, which makes recommendations to the City Council. Voters approved MAPS 4 on Dec. 10, 2019.

What’s the history of MAPS?

Voters have approved four MAPS programs so far: the original MAPS in 1993, MAPS for Kids in 2001, MAPS 3 in 2009 and MAPS 4 on Dec. 10, 2019. There have been other uses for all or part of the same penny traditionally used for the MAPS programs – including part of the current Better Streets, Safer City program – but only those four have been official MAPS initiatives.

It all started in the late 1980s, when an airline surprised Oklahoma City leaders by choosing another city for a maintenance hub because its employees didn’t want to live here. In response, residents chose to make OKC a better place to live.

The original MAPS program funded the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Bricktown Canal, Cox Convention Center, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Civic Center Music Hall, improvements to State Fair Park, the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, the Oklahoma River and Oklahoma Spirit Trolleys. It raised $309 million, plus an extra $54 million in interest also used to fund construction. The original MAPS also had a use tax, which was deposited into a maintenance fund for the projects.

MAPS for Kids funded improvements to every public school serving students from Oklahoma City, including 70 new or renovated school buildings. Of the $700 million raised by the program, about $470 million was used for construction projects, $52 million for technology projects, $9 million for bus fleet replacement and $153 million for projects in 23 suburban districts serving OKC students.

MAPS 3 is still in the construction phase, with some projects already finished. It raised about $805 million, well above the anticipated $777 million because of Oklahoma City’s strong economy. Its projects are Scissortail Park, RIVERSPORT Rapids and other Oklahoma River improvements, the Bennett Event Center at State Fair Park, the OKC Streetcar, Senior Health & Wellness Centers, the new Oklahoma City Convention Center, trails and sidewalks. The MAPS 3 use tax is used to replace equipment for the Police and Fire departments.

MAPS 3 sales tax collections ended Dec. 31, 2017. The temporary penny sales tax for Better Streets, Safer City took effect Jan. 1, 2018, and ended March 31, 2020.

Read about MAPS 4 below.

What is MAPS 4?

MAPS 4 is the next generation of MAPS programs.

The MAPS 4 public input process began in fall 2018 last when the Mayor and City Council invited residents to share ideas for potential MAPS 4. Mayor David Holt shared some of the ideas received as of early 2019 in his annual State of the City address.

In summer 2019, the Council called a series of special public meetings to hear presentations on some of the ideas. The Council voted Aug. 27, 2019, to approve MAPS 4 and call an election Dec. 10, 2019. Voters approved the sales tax to fund MAPS 4 in the election.

The sales tax is expected to raise $978 million over eight years, debt-free, funded by a temporary penny sales tax. It began April 1, 2020, upon the expiration of the Better Streets, Safer City temporary sales tax, so the Oklahoma City sales tax rate stays the same.

MAPS 4 includes 16 projects:

Does MAPS 4 increase my taxes?

No. It keeps the sales tax rate the same.

When was the MAPS 4 election?

Dec. 10, 2019.

Who oversees MAPS 4?

MAPS 4 will have oversight from the City Council, and a volunteer advisory board with subcommittees.

The Council has final authority on all projects, but delegates primary oversight to the MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board and its six subcommittees.

The MAPS Investment and Operating Trust will develop a strategic investment plan to support long-term sustainable funding for MAPS 4 projects' operational expenses and maintenance.

The Mayor and Council appoint Oklahoma City residents to serve on the board, subcommittees and trust.

MAPS programs use cash to fund debt-free, pay-as-you-go project lists. The first year or so of all MAPS programs involves long-term planning and early phases of project design while cash accumulates from the sales tax.

The advisory board and the Council worked together on an implementation plan and timeline for the project list. By the time the sales tax expires, the money is earning interest and projects are well under way with planning in the final stages.

As an example, the MAPS 3 sales tax was collected from April 2010 to December 2017. MAPS 3 remains on budget, and the final project – the lower 30 acres of Scissortail Park – is scheduled to begin construction in 2020 and open in 2022.

How does MAPS fit within the City government’s role?

In Oklahoma City, voters have chosen repeatedly to have an extra, temporary penny added to City sales tax to fund MAPS projects and make our community a better place to live. Because it’s a voter-approved, temporary tax on top of what residents already pay for services, it doesn’t take money away from schools, streets and other important things.

Cities in Oklahoma fund public services like police and fire protection, drinking water, streets, animal welfare, code enforcement, transit and parks. The State of Oklahoma and U.S. governments fund other public services like schools and highways.

In Oklahoma, city governments have two primary sources of revenue: sales tax and property tax. Property tax can be used for infrastructure investments like streets and parks. Oklahoma is the only state in the U.S. where cities may only use sales tax for day-to-day operations. Sales tax can also be used for capital programs like MAPS.

How does OKC’s sales tax compare to other cities?

Oklahoma City’s overall sales tax rate, which stays the same under MAPS 4, is 8.625% (8.975% in Canadian County and 8.875% in Cleveland County, because of county sales taxes). Of that, 4.125% belongs to the City. The rest belongs to the state or county.

Overall sales tax rates in other metro cities:

9.85% in Piedmont
9.1% in Midwest City
8.85% in Mustang
8.85% in Yukon
8.75% in Norman
8.5% in Bethany
8.25% in Edmond

Where do sales tax dollars go in OKC?

The City's share of the sales tax rate is 4.125% – a little more than 4 cents per dollar. About half (2 1/4 cents) goes to the General Fund, which pays for day-to-day operations. Most of the General Fund goes to public safety (Police and Fire), with the rest to other services. An additional 3/4 of a cent is permanently dedicated to public safety. Then 1/8 of a cent goes to the Oklahoma City Zoo. The last penny is the one historically used for the series of temporary penny sales taxes, like the previous MAPS programs and MAPS 4. The temporary sales tax funding MAPS 4 took effect when the Better Streets, Safer City temporary sales tax expired.

The rest of the overall sales tax rate in Oklahoma City goes to the state (and to the county in Cleveland and Canadian counties, which have county sales tax).

Learn more at okc.gov/tax.

Was there a temporary penny sales tax before?

Yes. Sales tax collections began Jan. 1, 2018, for Better Streets, Safer City. Collections started the day after the MAPS 3 penny sales tax expired and ended March 31, 2020. The MAPS 4 temporary sales tax took effect when it expired.

The temporary sales tax portion of Better Streets, Safer City has $168 million for street resurfacing, $24 million for streetscapes, $24 million for sidewalks, $12 million for trails and $12 million for bicycle infrastructure. Better Streets, Safer City also includes an additional $967 million for infrastructure in a bond program, plus a permanent ¼ cent sales tax for operations (primarily to hire more police officers and firefighters).