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The Government and Taxes We Want The PRIORITIE$ THE GOVERNMENT AND TAXES WE WANT LEARNING & TRAINING WELL BEING SAFETY Education and Workforce Development Health & Human Services Justice/Transport Other 50% 29% 12% 9% THE 2015 OKLAHOMA ACADEMY TOWN HALL Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at NCED Norman - October 25-28 © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall 1 Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want The Oklahoma Academy is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization founded by Governor Henry Bellmon in 1967, and revitalized by him in 1985, to bring public attention to policy issues, provide objective, thorough research and act as a catalyst for positive change. The Mission of the Oklahoma Academy is to identify issues facing Oklahoma, provide well-researched, objective information, foster nonpartisan collaboration, develop responsible recommendations, and encourage community and legislative action. The Vision of the Oklahoma Academy is to empower Oklahomans to improve their quality of life through effective public policy development and implementation. The Academy Process identifies areas of need and problems facing Oklahoma, conducts research on identified critical issues, and develops long range goals, consensus recommendations, and agendas for action. Through the Town Hall conference process, forums and summits, the Academy increases citizen awareness, encourages civic engagement and sets the stage for thoughtfully improving Oklahoma. Moving Ideas Into Action The Oklahoma Academy, 401 West Main Street, Suite 390, Norman, OK 73069 405.307.0986 (phone) 844.270.4690 (fax) Email: [email protected] © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall 3 Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want Dear Town Hall Member Participant: The examination of our state budget, spending priorities, and available tax revenue is critically important. You have accepted an important challenge to do just that. We all recognize what an opportunity this is. We cannot recall when it has ever been done this comprehensively. By accepting your invitation to participate, you have promised to be prepared. This resource book was assembled to help you do that. And you have also accepted the responsibility to represent others in your geographic, demographic, and vocational area. Preparation is both critical and fundamental to informed dicussion. The success of any Town Hall is dependent upon the preparedness of its participants. As a Town Hall your voice can be heard, should you so choose. Julie Knutson I want to thank our two Town Hall Co-Chairs, Howard Barnett and Dan Boren. President and CEO They have collaboratively led a committee of interested Oklahoma leaders in developing the details and specifics of this Town Hall. Behind the scenes are people like Jamie Wade, Administrative Assistant/Town Hall Coordinator, and Lori Harless, our newest staff member who specializes in database/graphics research. I am most appreciative of their focus and their work. I would be hugely remiss if I did not acknowledge and give special praise and thanks to Craig Knutson and Mike Lapolla, two volunteers who have produced our Town Hall Resource Book every year since 2001. This is Mike’s final year of service to the Town Hall. During is tenure with the Academy – when asked to do anything - he’s always said “yes, I’ll be happy to help!” I am most sincerely grateful for Mike’s dedication, and for his friendship. Your assignment and role is to take full advantage of your unique opportunity. Be prepared. Listen, speak, and learn. The work of the Town Hall is much easier, more fun, and more satisfying to those who have prepared themselves. Enjoy your Town Hall! © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall 5 Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want NOTES This is a resource document for you to use. Take notes, highlight, use as a textbook. © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall 101 Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want Town Hall Silver Sponsors The Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute The University of Oklahoma Price College of Business Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want 6 © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall SPONSOR OF TOWN HALL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS University of Arts and Sciences of Oklahoma TOWN HALL GENERAL SPONSOR Enid Regional Development Alliance OKLAHOMA ACADEMY MEMBER PARTNER INVESTORS The Oklahoma Academy celebrates the consistent support from companies, institutions, organizations and individuals that are committed to the art of civil discourse, consensus driven dialogue, and perspective sharing on critical issues. We are grateful to our Member Partner Investors who provide an annual investment in support of all of the Oklahoma Academy programs and events. Consensus Partners Devon Energy OGE Energy Corp. Collaborator Partners AT&T BancFirst BCBS of Oklahoma Chickasaw Nation Choctaw Nation INTEGRIS Health Public Service Company of Oklahoma Tulsa Community College © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall 7 Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want October 2015 It has been our pleasure to Chair this 2015 edition of The Oklahoma Academy’s Town Hall: Priorities: The Government and Taxes We want. This is an ambitious effort to have our Town Hall participants look closely at what we in Oklahoma spend our tax money on and how we raise that money, with a view to determining if we have our priorities straight. We hope to have you, our participants, provide some guidance to our legislators and Governor as they grapple with what will no doubt be another tough budget year in FY 2017. We all followed with great interest the struggles they had in crafting an FY 2016 budget in the face of a $611 million hole. If we can reach consensus on our priorities, that could be an enormous benefit for the next budget debates. The Town Hall is your opportunity to try to find a better way. As you review this resource document, you will find many areas of government which need and deserve more funding. You may be tempted to just say “we’ll raise taxes to cover it”. While we certainly want a healthy debate on the appropriate taxes and their level, we need to do so with reality in mind. We live under the sway of State Question 640 which mandates either a vote of the people to increase taxes or a vote of 75% of both houses of the legislature – a political impossibility. Our point in stressing this is that we want recommendations which have some realistic chance of influencing the choices our elected representatives make. That means, for the most part, making the same hard choices they must make and prioritizing where we spend our money. If we want more money for, say, K-12 education, what agency’s budget gets cut to pay for it? We hope that the views from the diverse participants in the Town Hall will begin a process that will lead to better prioritization in how Oklahoma spends our tax dollars. In closing, we want to thank you for being willing to spend the time to come to the Town Hall and take this opportunity to make a difference. Please also take the time to read this excellent resource document. The budget is complicated and you will be a much better participant if you have familiarized yourself with its ins and outs. Thanks again for your willingness to participate in this important endeavor. And, it should be fun too! Dan Boren Howard Barnett Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want 8 © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall NOTES This is a resource document for you to use. Take notes, highlight, use as a textbook. © 2015 The Oklahoma Academy Town Hall 101 Budget Priorities: The Government and Taxes We Want 2015 Town Hall Leadership Howard G. Barnett, Jr., President Dan Boren, President Oklahoma State University-Tulsa Corporate Development, Chickasaw Nation Howard Barnett was appointed by the OSU/A&M Before joining the Chickasaw Nation, Dan Board of Regents as president of OSU-Tulsa on represented Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional Oct. 5, 2009. In March 2010, the Board of Regents District in the U.S. House of Representatives for expanded Barnett’s role to serve as president of four terms before retiring in 2013. Prior to his the OSU Center for Health Sciences in addition to election to Congress in 2004, Dan served in the president of OSU-Tulsa. Oklahoma House of Representatives and was the first freshman state lawmaker ever to be elected as The consolidated leadership position for the Caucus Chairman. university’s operations in Tulsa helped strengthen academic and medical operations in Tulsa. After Dan continues to find ways to contribute to his overseeing the successful transition of the medical community. He currently serves on the boards of school’s teaching hospital to state hands, he The Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum, National returned his full attention to OSU-Tulsa in 2015. Rifle Association, FATE (Fighting Addiction Through Education), Joe Foss Institute, Seminole Before joining OSU, Howard was managing State College Educational Foundation, OU director of TSF Capital in Tulsa. He earned a juris Children’s Hospital Foundation, Ekso Bionics, doctorate from Southern Methodist University and Notah Begay Foundation (NB3), Grisso Mansion a bachelor’s degree in business administration from of the Seminole Nation, Otologic, IBC Bank, the University of Tulsa. Canterbury Choral Society, Oklahoma Academy, A life-long Tulsan, he served as chief of staff for OKC Boathouse Foundation and the Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and as the Oklahoma secretary City Museum of Art. of commerce. Dan earned his B.S. in Economics at Texas Howard is also a former chairman of the Tulsa Christian University and a M.B.A. in International Metro Chamber, Leadership Oklahoma and The Business from the University of Oklahoma. He Oklahoma Academy, among other organizations currently resides in Edmond, OK with his wife, with which Barnett has served.
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