How Much Did Tulsa Police Officer Layoffs Cost The City?

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- How much did the Tulsa police officer layoffs cost the city and what about the other officers still out of work?

Those were some of the questions The News On 6 asked Tuesday morning after a city council meeting that was all about money -- especially when it comes to the Tulsa Police Department.

City Councilor Bill Christiansen grilled the administration on how the police layoff played out, focusing on the timing that resulted in the city paying out severance, just a few days before announcing that some of the officers would be hired back.

Between comp time, vacation time and severance, the city paid out almost $1 million to the 124 laid off police officers.

"No we won't get any of that back. That was due them, the severance pay, the comp time, the vacation pay," said Jim Twombly, Director of Administration.

The city is rehiring 35 of the most senior officers from among the group that was laid off.

"These kids just made a statement pretty much, we don't just want to be cops, we want to be Tulsa cops," said Chief Chuck Jordan, Tulsa Police.

2/23/2010  Related Story: 35 Laid Off Tulsa Police Officers Say 'Yes' To Getting Rehired

While the city says it's still evaluating a counter offer from the police union, once again the biggest sticking point appears to be whether it covers 17 months - or just five months as insisted on by the union.

"We don't want a five month agreement. There's no reason on this earth to believe that July is going to be better. There's no reason to tell a police officer you have a job for five months and that's the best we can do. We're not going to do that," said Terry Simonson, Mayor's Chief of Staff.

The city says it's hoping to meet with the police union later this week for more talks on hiring back the laid off officers.