Kingfisher city commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to call for a May 11 citywide vote on a 10-year, half-cent sales tax to finance a new fire department and other capital improvements.

Dubbed the Fire, Infrastructure, Recreation and Emergency Services (FIRE) tax, the proposal replaces a permanent capital improvement sales tax which was defeated by about a dozen votes in the November general election.

Anyone registered to vote at an address within the municipal boundaries of the city of Kingfisher will be eligible to vote in the May 11 special election.

Commissioners approved an ordinance setting the purpose and parameters of the tax and a resolution calling for the May 11 vote, which will be submitted to the Kingfisher County Election Board.

Proceeds of the tax will be designated for “construction and/ or improvement of capital assets owned by the city” and specifically names construction of a new fire station and street improvements, as well as other capital improvements projects as approved by the commission.

Commissioners were presented with two options Wednesday night, the first with specific percentages designated as to how tax proceeds would be allocated and a second option that stated spending priorities in more general terms.

On the recommendation of City Manager Dave Slezickey, commissioners chose the second option.

“If we assign revenue to the fire station based on a certain percentage, my concern is that we could have problems with securing financing when we don’t know at this point how much it will cost,” Slezickey said.

“We also face the possibility at the end of the 10 years that the percentage we designate for the fire station is not sufficient to cover all the construction costs,” he said.