MIAMI, Okla. – Two Miami leaders were recognized at this year’s Oklahoma Municipal League Conference.
Miami Mayor Bless Parker and City Manager Bo Reese were honored during the 108th annual conference.
Parker was one of five nominees for 2023 Mayor of the Year for cities with a population over 5,000 and Reese was one of four nominees for the 2023 Jeff Shockley Award which recognizes outstanding municipal professionals and highlights the importance of public service.
Miami’s population is around 13,000.
The Mayor of the Year award went to Lawton Mayor Stan Booker and the 2023 Jeff Shockley Award went to Weatherford Mayor Mike Brown.
“With a strong grasp on finance and budget issues the City of Miami has received the highest rankings in the state by auditors and maintained a balanced budget under Parker and Reese’s guidance even with post-Covid and inflationary challenges,” said Melinda Stotts, Miami spokeswoman.
Under these men’s leadership, Miami achieved record sales tax revenues reaching a benchmark of over $7 million, tax collection is currently up 4.24%, and use tax is up 4.01%.
Over 95 percent of Miami’s storefront buildings are now filled with new or expanding commercial and retail businesses.
New stores coming including a Popeye’s Chicken, Scooter’s Coffee, Woody’s Diner, 7 Brew Coffee, a Tunnel Car Wash, and expansions or relocations of two Dollar General stores, two Pete’s stores, Goodfella’s, Vance Auto Group and the Otter Stop.
