City of Tulsa Considers Creating Reserve Fund - Eventually

 

TULSA, OK -- With the City of Tulsa in the middle of a budgetary crisis, some leaders believe now is the perfect time to talk about saving money when times are better. 

 

Both the administration and City Council are separately looking into creating a multi-year reserve fund. The City currently has a 5% annual operating reserve so it will always have available cash to pay bills.  This year, the reserve fund has dwindled far below what budget planners recommend, as sales tax income has continued to drop.

 

City Councilor Roscoe Turner said, "It's a good idea, but the question is when are we going to get to the point that we can put some money back?" 

 

Council Aide Jack Blair researched one scenario under which the city would contribute money to the fund in better years and take money out when income is down.  He says if the city had started the fund 14 years ago, none of the current cutbacks would be needed.

 

The plan is modeled after one created for the City of San Francisco, where it's helped alleviate some of that city's budget problems.

 

City Councilor G.T. Bynum said the reserve would have restrictions to prevent politicians from robbing it to build up new programs. 

 

"It anticipates we're going to come out of this downward cycle and when we do, we're going to have a lot of growth.  We want to capture some of the growth and set it aside into savings to help weather the bad times, just like any sound business does.  The City has just never had this type of cushion before" Bynum said.

 

The Mayor's Chief of Staff, Terry Simonson, says the administration is also looking at a reserve fund as a way to balance out some of the budgetary swings that come with relying on sales tax.

 

Simonson said, "You gotta start somewhere.  You've got to have a fund for a tragedy.  Where would we get the money?"