Split council reinstates Cancer Center sales tax

Apr. 25—A majority of McAlester city councilors took action during their Tuesday night meeting to reinstate the city's one-eighth cent sales tax for expansion of the McAlester Cancer Center.

A measure to reconsider the sales tax passed, as did a measure that resulted in reinstatement of the one-eighth cent sales tax by a 4-to-2 vote of the city council.

City councilors had repealed the one-eighth cent sales tax during their April 9 meeting by a split 4-to-3 vote.

Following the repeal, McAlester Mayor John Browne called it the single worst decision he'd ever seen by the McAlester City Council.

He also said he hoped the matter could come up again for reconsideration, but that would require one of the four councilors who voted for the repeal on April 9 to place it back on the city council agenda.

New Ward 1 City Councilor Levi Gilmore, one of the four city councilors who voted to repeal the one-eighth cent sales tax on April 9, later contacted City Clerk Cora Middleton and asked that the mater be placed on the April 23 meeting agenda for reconsideration.

When reconsideration of the matter came up for discussion Tuesday night, Gilmore outlined his reasons for bringing the April 9 sales tax repeal back up for reconsideration by the city council.

"I greatly have respect for the democratic process," Gilmore said.

He referred to when McAlester voters originally passed the one-eighth cent sales tax measure to expand the McAlester Cancer Center during a citywide election.

The proposal to pass a one-eighth cent sales tax for expansion of the McAlester Cancer Center and ancillary services passed in the 2018 election with more than 55% of the vote.

"We live in a country that's founded on democracy," Gilmore said.

He said the city council did not need to take any steps against the will of the people, as evidenced by the original one-eighth cent sales tax election results.

"We, as the council, should not spit in the face of democracy," said Gilmore.

During the Tuesday night meeting, Gilmore joined with Mayor Browne, Ward 2 Councilor Justin Few and Ward 6 Councilor Kevin Beaty in favor of repealing the earlier action and reinstating the one-eighth cent sales tax for expansion of the McAlester Treatment Center.

Voting "no," which would have kept the April 9 repeal of the one-eighth cent sales tax in place, were Ward 4 Councilor Randy Roden and Ward 5 Councilor Billy Jack Boatright.

Ward 3 City Councilor Chris Stone, who had voted during the April 9 meeting to repeal the sales tax, did not attend the Tuesday night, April 23 meeting. Even if he had attended and had voted again along with Roden and Boatright to keep the repeal in place, the measure to reinstate the sales tax still would have passed with the four "yes" votes from Browne, Gilmore, Few and Beaty.

As of April 10, the McAlester Regional Health Center had nearly $3 million, or $2,988,9128.09 in the bank from the one-eighth cent sales tax collections for the McAlester Cancer Center expansion, said MRHC Public Information Officer Chris Plunkett.

MRHC cannot legally spend the money for anything other than expansion of the McAlester Treatment Center and ancillary services.

Prior to the Tuesday night vote, city councilors heard from those who were supportive as well as those who were opposed to reinstating the one-eighth cent sales tax to benefit the McAlester Cancer Center.

Those who addressed city councilors in support of reinstating the one-eighth cent sales tax included John Titsworth, a former city councilor, as well as Plunkett, the MRHC public information officer.

Sonja DaJacimo, Dr. Richard Bowden and his father, Richard Bowden all addressed the council to state their opposition to reinstating it.

All three were critical of McAlester Regional Health Center CEO Shawn Howard's decision to transition the hospital from its longtime agreement of more than 20 years with the physician-owned Oklahoma Cancer Specialists and Research Institute.

MRHC is transitioning into a new agreement with the Oklahoma University Health Stephenson Cancer Center, which is the only National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Center in Oklahoma.

Browne said during the April 9 meeting that the hospital's decision had nothing to do with the city council's decision on whether to repeal the one-eighth cent sales tax.

Following the Tuesday night vote that resulted in reinstatement of the eighth-cent sales tax to fund expansion of the McAlester Cancer Center, Browne thanked the city councilors who supported the measure.

"I think we did the right thing," said Browne.