Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for voters in the city of Kingfi sher to decide the fate of a sales tax extension to fund a new fire department.

The election is to extend a one-half cent sales tax for an additional 10 years and is open only to voters within the city.

A simple majority - 50 percent plus one - is needed to pass the proposition.

If passed, the sales tax will help fund the construction of a new fire department as well as other city needs.

The Kingfisher City Commission called for the special election during its November meeting.

That came after multiple discussions at meetings by city officials as well as a community forum in which the public was invited to provide input on solutions to help a shortfall in funding the construction of a new fire department.

Voters in May 2021 passed the original FIRE (fire, infrastructure, recreation, emergency services) tax that was projected to bring in just over $8 million over 10 years.

The facility is set to replace the aging structure the KFD has used for 50 years and has outgrown. The city purchased the land for the new fire department’s location at 1501 S. Main St. using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

However, construction costs began to skyrocket in the post-COVID world and according to the facility’s architect Ray Holliday of BRW Architects, Inc., “they haven’t come back down.”

It’s now projected the 16,500 square foot facility will cost about $12.2 million – a number that includes the building, architect’s fees and interest – which caused city leaders to seek input on resolutions to close the funding gap.

Commissioners, City Manager Jim Thomas and fire department members hosted the community discussion in October and floated the idea of extending the sales tax for an additional 10 years once the current tax expires.

That meeting was also attended by Holliday, who went over the details of the proposed new facility and explained several different options that were considered.

Thomas said he felt those in attendance understood that the new facility was not extravagant and that it would meet the needs of the city for the next 50 years.

Currently the tax on purchases in Kingfisher is 9.25 cents.

The city gets 3.5 cents of that, of which 2 cents goes into the city’s accounts, 1 cent toward the hospital and then the half-cent for the fire, infrastructure, recreation, emergency services.

If citizens vote to extend the FIRE tax, sales tax in the city would remain at 9.25 cents.

The current tax runs through 2031, meaning an extension would push the half-cent sales tax to 2041.

As was the intent with the original sales tax, any tax collected beyond the cost of the fire department will go toward other city improvements.