Tulsa's Next Fiscal Year Budget Calls For Spending Slightly Less

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa city budget for next year calls for spending slightly less than what the city spends now, but gives options for new spending if revenue improves.

It's worth noting utility rates will go up by $3.50 a month for the average homeowner. And the budget keeps school crossing guards on the job. 

In more general terms, the budget plan demonstrates the policies of Mayor Dewey Bartlett, within the limits of what's available to spend.

The new budget proposal is the most complete look so far into what Mayor Bartlett wants to do with city government.

"I want to approach it conservatively. I don't want to see us go through this again," said Mayor Bartlett.

One year ago, Mayor Kathy Taylor's budget plan was filled with cutbacks.

"Let me be clear on one point, it is not the budget I prefer," Taylor said last year.

But even that unpopular budget plan ended up being cut much more because sales tax dropped by more than $10 million.

The biggest cut in spending in the new budget plan is snow plowing. The city usually spends $750,000 to clear snow, but it's not in the new budget plan.

The new budget baseline also includes no new police officers, no new firefighters, eight furlough days for all city employees and keeping the highway lights off.

Bartlett asked the council to consider new fees for city services to offset any spending that's not in his budget plan.

The possible budget boosters: higher fees - for burglar alarm and business permits, increased rates for parking meters and billing citizens when the fire department responds to house fires and car accidents.

Bartlett says even without new income for the city, he doesn't believe new cutbacks are needed. And he hopes generating new income for the city will be the hallmark of the new budget.

"That to me is what I'd like to see, at least the beginning of this administration, as what we'll be known by," said Bartlett.

The new budget does include more money to pay expenses related to the new city hall. That's because the city has not been able to sell the old empty buildings yet or fully rent out the new one and the estimates used when the deal was made turned out to be off by millions of dollars.

4/29/2010  Related Story: Tulsa Mayor Says It Is A Bare Bones Budget For Next Fiscal Year