FYE 14 Budget prelim - City of Norman

the election outcomes were known and Congressional fiscal policies were clarified,economic growth resumed. All of these things considered, the national economycontinued a slow but steady recovery growth pattern during 2012, as indicated by theeconomic measures illustrated below:The Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area continues to have one of the healthiest economiesin the United States, and growth in petrochemical sectors have buttressed the regionaleconomy and fueled recent growth. Continued concerns related to the impacts of Federalsequestration cutbacks on the regional economy persist. Norman has many residents whoare employed directly or indirectly by federal agencies (National Weather Service, U.S.Defense Department, various social service agencies and others) who will be negativelyaffected by cutbacks in their agencies. Reductions in areas related to the Oklahoma Cityarea’s petrochemical industry may also negatively impact Norman residents.Norman’s sales tax growth patterns are a widely accepted indicator of the health of thelocal retail economy. The striking similarity between the national economic trendindicators above and the Norman sales tax growth patterns below are very indicative ofthe ties between the health of the national economy and Norman’s retail economy:ii