KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo - Emergency fund proposal on Lawton charter ballot

Emergency fund proposal on Lawton charter ballot

LAWTON, OK._The state of Oklahoma has a rainy day fund that the legislature must put money in every year.

The city of Lawton does not, and that is the focus of Proposition 3 on next week's charter election ballot. 

City Manager Larry Mitchell says this proposition to create an emergency fund might be one of the most important changes voters could make. It's an idea that the council has tried before.

"It was maybe 2005, 2006, the city council passed a resolution requiring the city to have a reserve fund," said Mitchell.

That resolution stated that 5% of the city's general fund must be stocked away for a rainy day.They managed to save 3% comfortably. But the money did not last long.  In the next few years, the money saved was moved to another fund and spent.

Then came the ice storm of 2010.

The city was forced to come up with the money for repairs, then wait for FEMA to reimburse them.

The city took money from the Sewer Rehab Program, paid for repairs, then reimbursed the fund when FEMA money came through.

That expensive natural disaster got city officials thinking that an emergency fund was necessary.

"In 2010, early 2011, the council decided to set up an emergency reserve fund. Those funds can only be used for very specific events or activities, so we decided to capture the money we were reimbursed from FEMA, about $800,000, and the city council has placed that money in an emergency reserve account," said Mitchell.

Now, $800,000 is not much considering Lawton's annual budget of $90,000,000.

If Proposition 3 passes, it will mandate the growth of this rainy day fund.

Mitchell says the city would shoot for that same savings goal of 5% of the general fund.

Mitchell feels this proposition is crucial, after hard lessons learned in 2010.

"Well, that's the importance of it, and we certainly didn't want to get in a position where we'd have to do some temporary borrowing or something, because that just increases your cost. Obviously, you're paying interest and other things to borrow that money," said Mitchell.

It is important to note that Proposition 3 does not require that council submit a specific amount of money into the rainy day account. It simply says the city council "shall establish an amount".

That means it is up to them how much they set aside.

The election is February 14th.