Mayor Will Joyce

10/26/2026

Early voting starts Wednesday!

Make a plan — get out and VOTE!

‼️EARLY VOTING‼️

📅 October 28th, 29th, 30th & 31st!
⏰ 28th, 29th & 30th 8am-6pm! 31st is 8am-2pm!
📍 Payne County Expo Center or Cushing Chamber of Commerce

10/25/2026

Another edition of America's Greatest Homecoming is in the books!

THANK YOU to the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association and the OSU student groups who do so much work all year to make Homecoming the best weekend ever.

THANK YOU to City of Stillwater, City of Stillwater Emergency Management SEMA, Stillwater Police Department, OSU Police Department and Campus Safety, Stillwater Fire Department, Payne County Sheriff's Office, and all of the state and regional public safety agencies that invest tons of time and effort into keeping Homecoming safe and welcoming to all.

THANK YOU to all the Loyal and True Cowboy alumni who still call Stillwater *home*, no matter where they live now.

THANK YOU to the Stillwater community and our local businesses who always roll out the orange carpet for the tens of thousands of our extended Cowboy family who made the trip home.

Oh, and THANK YOU to Oklahoma State Cowboy Football for whooping up on the Buffs and capping the weekend off right.

Go Pokes!

10/23/2026

 Welcome to Stillwater‘s community-wide family reunion!

10/22/2026

SQ 847 and Property Taxes: Let’s Do the Math

Property tax is the only tax Oklahomans pay that stays entirely local. None of it goes to the state. It pays for our schools, county roads and bridges, the sheriff’s office, CareerTech centers, and health departments. Here in Stillwater, it also pays for projects voters approved, like our new fire station and animal welfare facility.

SQ 847 would lower the cap on how fast your property’s assessed value can grow each year. For homesteads and farmland, the cap drops from 3% to 1.75%. For other property, it drops from 5% to 4%. That sounds like a tax cut, but let’s look at what actually happens.

When the City and school sinking funds use property tax, it’s to repay bonds that voters approved. Those payments work like your mortgage: they’re due no matter what. Each year, the county assessor sets the millage rate high enough to cover them. If assessed values grow more slowly, the rate goes up. You don’t save anything.

SPS, Meridian Tech, and Payne County also have fixed-rate levies that pay for day-to-day operations. Meridian, for example, gets about 80% of its general fund from local property tax. SQ 847 would hold growth in those levies below the rate of inflation, so every year they’d fall a little further behind what it actually costs to run a school, maintain a road or staff a sheriff’s office. Payne County estimates the loss at $4.5 million in the first year, $22.7 million by year five and $45.1 million by year ten.

I understand that changes to tax policy are enticing. Costs are up for everyone. But Oklahoma already has one of the lowest state and local tax burdens in the country, and this measure doesn’t make anyone’s life more affordable. What it does is let the state legislature limit decisions that belong to local voters about what to build and what to invest in. And it's being proposed by state politicians who don’t use property tax to fund any of their responsibilities.

I believe in local control; decisions about our schools, infrastructure, and public safety should stay as close as possible to the people who understand the needs and live with the results. SQ 847 undermines our ability to govern ourselves and will make local needs even more dependent on the state, and I'm not convinced that a small possible change in property tax bills is worth the long-term risks to our communities.

EDIT:
I’ve read every comment here, and I appreciate people taking the time. Let me respond to a few of the bigger themes in one place.

Some of you believe property tax is immoral or that all taxation is theft. I respect that you feel strongly, but I disagree. Taxes are how neighbors pay for the things none of us can buy alone: roads, schools, fire protection, public safety officers who answer the call. You don’t have to like it. But the honest question isn’t whether we pay for those things. It’s how.

On “unrealized gains”: property tax isn’t an income tax. It’s how we pay for the services that protect and support property: the fire truck, the road to your driveway, the deputy who patrols your neighborhood, the education system that creates economic opportunity. And Oklahoma already caps how much your taxable value can rise. If you’ve owned your home for years, you’re likely taxed on far less than it would sell for.

Some suggested taxing only the purchase price, or stopping the tax once a home is paid off. Those approaches don’t make the cost go away. They shift it onto young families, new buyers and renters. Renters already pay property tax through their rent. If we all just make decisions on what's best for us personally, our society crumbles.

On waste: if you think a school, county or city is spending money it shouldn’t, I agree you should hold them accountable. Their budgets are public, their meetings are open, and every bond goes to a local vote. That’s local control, and it’s exactly what SQ 847 threatens.

If you’re voting yes, I’d just ask you to vote knowing both sides of that math.

10/21/2026

Congratulations, Alane! What an amazing honor and well-deserved recognition for the great work of the whole Stillwater Chamber of Commerce team.

The Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executives (OCCE) honored five chamber professionals at their 2026 Annual Conference and Awards on October 20 in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

These awards were given to chamber professional who have exemplified dedication and leadership to their organization and community.

Alane Zannotti, President/CEO of Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, was recognized as the Shelia Lee Executive of the Year. This award is given to a chamber executive who has been the chief paid executive for over three years and exemplified outstanding chamber management and exceptional service to fellow Chamber executives.

10/15/2026

I'm honored to join Cohort 2 of the Hunt-Lee Mayoral Leadership Fellowship through the The Hunt Institute. I'm excited to learn alongside a great group of mayors from across the country who share a commitment to strong schools and thriving communities.

In Stillwater, our city and school district are independent government entities, but we collaborate constantly to support students and families. I'm looking forward to bringing home practical tools and ideas that can help Stillwater enhance both the quality of and access to education for every child in our community.

Grateful for the opportunity, and ready to get to work!

10/05/2026

Senator Dugger’s legacy of community service in Stillwater has had a tremendous and long-lasting impact. He was one of the people who always seemed to make time to help in whatever way needed. His work was never self-interested; he was driven by the best interests of others in ways that should inspire and motivate all of us.

My deepest condolences to Ann and the whole Dugger family.

The Honorable Tom J. Dugger passed away on Monday, October 5, 2026, at Stillwater Medical Center, from advanced Parkinsons Disease.



Tom was grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Payne and Creek counties as State Senator from 2016 to 2024, succeeding retiring State Senator Dr. Jim Halligan. In the Senate he served as Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Select Agencies, as Vice Chair of General Government, and he sat on committees for Education and for Agriculture and Wildlife. Among his legislative priorities were college affordability, adequate funding for all levels of education, and textbook tax exemptions. The State Chamber gave him a perfect score supporting economic growth, job creation, and business development. The State Regents for Higher Education presented him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2023.



Tom graduated in accounting from OSU where he was a member of the honorary scholastic fraternities Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Alpha Psi. His early career was in Oklahoma City with Peat-Marwick and then he served as the audit and tax manager of Oklahoma Publishing Company. In 1979, Tom and Ann and young Jim moved to Stillwater where Tom was the financial advisor and accountant for Aufleger and Garrett. He established his own firm Dugger & Co in 1986 in Stillwater. He was a past board member of the Oklahoma Board of Accountancy and of the Oklahoma Society of CPAs. He served on the Advisory Board for the OSU School of Accounting and was recognized as an OSU Distinguished Accounting Alumnus in 2005. Tom received the Oklahoma Society of CPA’s Public Service Award in 2002. In 1995, after being nominated by the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, Tom was honored as the United States Small Business Advocate of the year.



Tom also served two three-year elective terms on the Stillwater City Council and served as Vice Mayor of Stillwater. He served as a Regent for Northern Oklahoma College and was a past president of the Stillwater Community Foundation. Tom was a veteran of the Oklahoma National Guard and enjoyed his friends in the Stillwater American Legion.



As an Eagle Scout, Tom was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts. He is a past president of Stillwater Exchange Club, past treasurer and executive committee member of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce where he received the Chamber’s Distinguished Chairman’s Award. Tom graduated from the first Leadership Stillwater class and remained a member of the Leadership Stillwater Alumni. He served on the Board for the Stillwater Chapter of the American Red Cross and as an Ambassador for OSU Global. Tom is a member of First Christian Church in Stillwater and was a board member of the nonprofits Matthew 25:40 Mission and Turning Point Ranch (a therapeutic equine riding center for special-needs children). He enjoyed assisting the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with its activities, and he appreciated and enjoyed the Friday Morning Methodist Men’s Group.



Tom was born on November 10, 1948, and was a 1967 graduate of Nowata High School. Predeceasing Tom were his parents Jack and Estelle Dugger of Nowata. He is survived by his wife of 57 years Dr. Ann Yirsa Dugger, EdD (OSU) who, with Tom, hosted and mentored international students and provided scholarships for students in business and in education. Tom and Ann have one son, Jim, who resides in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife Dr Layla Dugger. Survivors also include Tom’s brother Charles (and Leigh Ann) Dugger from Grand Lake, Ok; sister-in-law Vera Yirsa from Grove, OK; special family friend Emily McMorries from Dallas, Tx; aunt Nora Moon (Georgia); uncle Verlin Rachels (Meansville, GA); and nieces Stephanie Pursa (Olathe, Ks), Alison Atyla (Gunter, Tx), Cynthia Bivens (Newcastle, OK), Beth Matlock (Broken Arrow, OK), Katey Norris (Rogers, AR), and Ginna Hensley (San Diego, CA).



En lieu of flowers, Tom would be grateful for gifts to the Tom J. and H. Ann Dugger Endowed Scholarship at The OSU Foundation, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74076-1749, or give electronically to osugiving.com in memory of Tom Dugger.



Tom’s Celebration of Life will be Friday, October 9, 2026, at 3:00 pm at Stillwater’s First Christian Church, 411 W. Matthews Ave. Officiating will be The Rev Sondra Ladd, and speaking on behalf of friends and family will be the Duggers’ long-time friend Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Dustin Rowe. Visitation and refreshments at the church will follow the service.

10/02/2026

It's going to be a beautiful day for a car show tomorrow in Stillwater!

The Stillwater Car Club is having our 31st Annual Car Show at the stadium on October 3rd, and we have some local food trucks and a hot air balloon coming. This event is FREE to the public, and SCC is a 501(c)3.

09/14/2026

STATE OF THE CITY

Last Friday, the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce invited me to present on the State of the City, and I had a lot to say! There is so much great stuff happening in Stillwater right now and even more on the horizon. If you didn't make it to the event, the transcript of the full speech is on the City of Stillwater website (link in comments), but here's a bit of the closing section that I want to share here, too:

This is what City government is: It's not a building. It's not an org chart. It’s not a set of bureaucratic rules and regulations. At the core, it's a community of people who work together on a goal that’s too big for any one of them to do alone.

It's recognizing the need to co-labor, to co-operate, to have a co-mission.

It's understanding that not every project I work on benefits me directly — but a better community is a benefit none of us can ever achieve alone.

Society doesn't work without community. We can't live this close to each other and not get along. We can't thrive as individuals without our neighbors — and they can't thrive without us.

So how do we keep making progress together?

Find a place that needs your help. Not a place you were already going to be anyway. Not the kitchen that already has too many cooks. Fill a hole. Build a bridge.

The next time you catch yourself thinking, "why hasn't anybody done something about that" — there’s your call. Be the person that does something.

That's how we get whatever comes next. That’s how we make Progress Together.

09/12/2026

No place like Stillwater.