Vote No on SQ 843. Property tax cuts with no plan are not “relief.”

Oklahomans are hearing a tempting pitch: “Let’s eliminate property taxes on your home.” That idea is packaged as State Question 843 (SQ 843), and I’m going to be direct.

I’m a hard NO on SQ 843.

Not because I love taxes. Not because I want government to waste money. I’m a NO because SQ 843 cuts a major local funding source without a serious replacement plan. That’s not reform. That’s a financial cliff.

What SQ 843 actually does (plain English)

SQ 843 would phase out property taxes on owner-occupied homesteads over the next 3 years:

• 2027: 33.33% of the homestead’s assessed value exempt
• 2028: 66.67% exempt
• 2029 and after: 100% exempt (for homesteads)

Key detail: This applies only to homesteads. Rentals, commercial property, agricultural property, and second homes would still be taxed.

Also. The public estimates shared by proponents project revenue reductions of $400 million (2027), $800 million (2028), and $1.2 billion per year starting in 2029. And the FAQ notes there is no replacement revenue specified.

Why this hits property rights and local control

Property rights are not just “keep my taxes low.” Property rights include:

• Safe streets and emergency response.
• Usable roads and bridges.
• Public schools that keep communities stable.
• A local economy that can recruit employers because the basics work.

Here’s the big local-government issue. Property tax is one of the few revenue streams that stays local. When it gets blown up, the replacement money (if it ever appears) tends to come with strings, shifting control away from local voters and toward state-level politics.

So SQ 843 isn’t just a tax question. It’s also a local control question.

What it could mean in Pottawatomie County

In Pottawatomie County, the ad valorem levy share looks like this (rounded, from the OSU Extension county mill levy report):

• Schools (combined):
  • School General Fund: 41.7%
  • School Building Fund: 5.3%
  • School Sinking Fund (bond debt): 17.0%
    Total schools: 64.0% 
• CareerTech:
  • CareerTech General Fund: 10.6%
  • CareerTech Building Fund: 5.0%
    Total CareerTech: 15.6% 
• County General Fund: 10.6%
• County Library: 6.3%
• County Health Dept: 2.7%
• City Sinking Fund: 0.8% (OSU Extension)

Property taxes are not abstract. They keep schools, CareerTech, county services, and emergency response running.

So when someone says, “This just trims waste,” here’s the reality.

In our county, most of the property tax structure is schools and CareerTech. That is the backbone of Shawnee, Tecumseh, Bethel, North Rock Creek, and South Rock Creek, and it supports the workforce pipeline employers care about.

“But it’s only for homesteads.” That’s part of the problem.

SQ 843 gives the benefit to homeowners who have filed for the homestead exemption.

That creates two big equity issues:

1. Renters get squeezed. Renters do not get a homestead exemption. If local governments lose money, the pressure doesn’t vanish. It shifts. Services get cut, fees go up, or taxes concentrate more on the properties that are still taxed. That is a recipe for rising housing costs, especially for renters.
2. It splits taxpayers into “protected” and “not protected.” That’s politically dangerous. It makes it easier to underfund local services because a big voting bloc stops feeling the consequences directly.

“Won’t schools just get more state funding?”

They might. They might not.

What we do know is:

• The FAQ notes that property tax revenue is distributed among schools, technology centers, counties, and libraries.
• It also notes that Oklahoma public schools generate a significant share of revenue from property taxes.

And here’s the part that should make every voter pause.

Oklahoma’s Legislature has already struggled to properly fund public education over time. Betting your local schools on a future Legislature “making it right later” is not a plan. It’s a hope. And I’m not hopeful.

What about school bonds and debt already approved?

One of the most serious landmines raised in the FAQ is this:

SQ 843 does not clearly solve how previously approved school bond obligations would be paid if a large share of homeowners become exempt.

Even if the exact mechanics get argued out later, this is the wrong order of operations.

You don’t pass a statewide measure that creates chaos, then ask your local schools and counties to “figure it out.”

This idea is showing up at the Capitol, too

Even if you never read a ballot question, you still might hear this topic at the Legislature.

Bills have already been introduced that mirror the same basic concept. For example:

• HB 3308 creates an ad valorem tax exemption for homesteads with a phase-in concept.
• SB 1885 modifies the homestead exemption (different approach, same policy neighborhood).

So whether it’s a ballot measure or a bill, the question is the same.

If you cut local revenue, what’s the replacement plan? In writing. With numbers.

The smarter path. Targeted relief, not a fiscal crater.

There are ways to help people who are truly getting crushed by housing costs.

I strongly support targeted property-tax relief for fixed-income seniors and disabled veterans when it’s structured responsibly.

In a separate, upcoming post, I’ll break down specific proposals being discussed at the Capitol and why targeted relief is a better tool than a blanket elimination plan.

My bottom line for Shawnee and Pottawatomie County

SQ 843 sounds simple and tempting. “No property taxes on your home.”

But it creates a chain reaction:

• Less stable funding for local schools and CareerTech
• More pressure on county government and local services
• More cost-shifting onto renters and non-homestead properties
• More dependence on state-level decisions instead of local control

Vote NO on SQ 843.

If we want real reform, let’s demand a plan that is specific, funded, and honest about tradeoffs.