Tulsa City Council Approves More Than $4.7 Million In COVID Relief Funding For Economic Recovery

Tulsa City Council approved millions in COVID-19 relief funding Wednesday to aid in the Tulsa’s economic recovery amid the pandemic.

The $4,781,250 will be used to fund Phase 3 projects.

The City of Tulsa and Tulsa Community WorkAdvance will receive $3.1 million of the funding to go towards helping Tulsans affected by COVID-19 find high-wage employment, according to the City of Tulsa’s communications officer.

Another $1.7 million was approved by councilors also to support business incubation for startup companies and entrepreneurs. They will partner with 36 Degrees North to transform a vacant floor of City Hall into what they call a "state-certified business incubator."

"For the past four years, we have focused on becoming a globally competitive, world-class city,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “In the face of the current public health and economic crisis, we are more committed than ever to investing in initiatives that will help Tulsa build a strong, resilient economy. These programs will help us grow Tulsa's economy by focusing on both sides of the jobs equation: ensuring we're creating more 21st century jobs, and training Tulsans to move into living wage careers.”

An additional $252,000 will be used to aid a program at 12&12, one of Oklahoma's community addiction recovery centers for adults. The program that will be created by the funding will aim to treat an estimated 400 new clients to treat methamphetamine addiction.

For more information and a breakdown of each program currently funded, click here.