Economist: OKC Economy Should Remain Strong
Economist says Oklahoma City’s economic trends remain positive
City council members begin the process of drafting a budget for next year reviewed forecasts predicting continuing growth.
BY WILLIAM CRUM wcrum@opubco.com | Published: February 13, 2013
Oklahoma City may be in the “nascent years” of an economic transformation marked by widespread growth, an economist told the Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday.
Russell Evans offered three forecasts to council members who will set next year’s spending priorities — pessimistic, baseline and optimistic — for growth in sales taxes. The sales tax is the biggest single part of the city budget, and sales tax growth is an indicator of the city’s overall economic health.
Evans’ forecasts ranged from an increase of 2.6 percent to an increase of 7.1 percent for the budget year beginning July 1. His baseline came in at 4.4 percent. Drawing on a gambling analogy, Evans said a bettor might take the “under” — pessimistic — or the “over” — optimistic.