TULSA, OK.—  In light of the Oklahoma Supreme Court case in which the court remanded the matter back to the lower court, directing that the district court order Bank of Oklahoma to repay the City of Tulsa the $7.1 million related to Great Plains Airlines, Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel has requested that he be given an opportunity to make a presentation to the Tulsa County Excise Board.

At issue is the sequence of events and acts committed by the City of Tulsa in contravention of the statutes governing sinking funds and property tax levies.

The Supreme Court summary of the case indicates that the money was paid from the City of Tulsa sinking fund prior to the County Excise Board having the opportunity to review the matter and authorize the levy.  This is expressly prohibited by Oklahoma Statute, 62 O.S. §365.5.

The statute has a very well defined process for submitting requests for property taxes, allowing for hearings and protests by the citizens.  The result was that the $7.1 million was paid out of the sinking fund before the Excise Board even had a chance to review and vote on the request, which they are required to do, and the citizens of Tulsa County were therefore denied their statutory right to challenge the levy.

“I think the County Excise Board needs to understand that the citizens have been poorly served in this matter all the way around.  The Excise Board has a meeting on Wednesday, November 9th, and I believe they need to consider these new revelations in light of the authorization they have already given to raise property taxes to pay for this invalidated judgment.  They earlier approved $62.3 million, and if they reduce that by $7.1 million, the result will be an 11.3% reduction in the City portion of property taxes,” Ken Yazel said.

Ken Yazel was elected Tulsa County Assessor in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010.  A retired Major, U.S. Marine Corps, Yazel was also a CPA for many years.  During his time in county government he has continually fought to lower taxes and ensure that property values in Tulsa County are fair and equalized.