Rogers County voters sent a clear message Tuesday: They want high quality emergency services and are willing to pay for them, but they won't tolerate paying big bucks for vague promises.
Voters approved a 50 cent monthly tax on each cell phone line - $6 a year - to provide high-technology dispatching services which will route 911 calls to the correct call center and allow the operators to know where and from whom the call originated.
But they soundly rejected a permanent half cent sales tax which promised countywide ambulance service but provided no guarantees of what it would cost, how it would be governed, or what would happen when revenues outstripped needs - almost a certainty given soaring utility bills to which the added tax would apply.
Former Claremore Mayor Jim Cochran correctly recognized the problem of patchwork ambulance service more than two years ago, and began quietly meeting with other political leaders.
But the planning process shut out the public.
Still, the plan that was evolving late in the spring likely could have passed. It was set up so only those who needed government ambulance service would pay.
But Cochran resigned and moved to Ponca City. County Commissioners changed the deal at the last minute to a countywide sales tax, which would push the total sales tax levy to 9.5% across most of the county. Worse, it would have double-taxed residents of the one-third of the county served by the Oologah Talala Emergency Medical Service district.
That put mayors such as Chelsea's Kenny Weast and Inola's Cheryl Charles in a bind - they really need an ambulance system but were stuck supporting a flawed proposal.
Worse, Cochran never got support from his city council - and when the Claremore council was consulted it voted against any tax hike.
In the end, Inola and Chelsea voted yes (along with six of the 10 voters in a small Catoosa precinct) while every other precinct voted no.
The need is still very real in other parts of the county.
We hope Weast, Charles and Catoosa Mayor Curtis Conley will reach out to other civic leaders in those parts of the county without adequate ambulance service to develop a workable plan to meet their needs.
Those mayors are legally responsible for emergency services in their communities, unlike Northwest Rogers County where we have consolidated, independent fire and ambulance districts with their own governing bodies. Those mayors and civic leaders are the proper people to take the lead in developing a solution.
One place to start is a hard, cold analysis of the sales and use taxes already collected by the county. The commissioners insist every cent is wisely spent for vital needs and cannot be diverted. However, those tax revenues are steadily increasing. Those increases may be able to help subsidize an ambulance service.
State law could be rewritten so an ambulance boundary can be drawn to include the only parts of the county without service.
This newspaper is acutely aware of the need in other parts of the county, and will support a reasonable, fair plan as strongly as we opposed this unfair proposal.
Northwest Rogers County voters spoke clearly. By a margin of 84-16 percent, they said they are satisfied with our existing services.
Any successful plan for the rest of the county will need to stay in the part of the county where the need exists. And since voters have firmly endorsed OTEMS, any effort to disrupt its operations while creating a new system for the areas in need will simply doom the next plan to failure.