Tulsa's Mayor Defends His Budget Plan

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett says he wants to set the record straight about the city's budget. 

The Mayor says there are misconceptions about his office being over-budget by more than $140,000.

During Thursday's meeting of the Tulsa city council; Bartlett tried to defend that budget to the City Council.  But the city attorney cut him off, saying the item wasn't on the agenda so it violated open meeting laws. 

Bartlett insists he's making sacrifices, right along with everyone else.

"When we first took office, and then when we let people go that really made a statement in my view that we were really serious about working more with less," said Dewey Bartlett. 

Bartlett says the budget problems were hard to detect, because not everyone who works on the mayor's staff is paid out of the mayor's budget. 

The News On 6 talked with former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, who says according to October's financial reports "her office was on track to finish the year on budget." 

In a related note, Dewey Bartlett says he is still reaching out to city's police union after 124 officers were laid off last week. 

Bartlett e-mailed the president of the police union, suggesting they meet.  That meeting could happen as early as next week.

2/4/2010 Related story: Some Laid Off Tulsa Officers Return To TPD - As Volunteers