Citizens Committee Reviews Sales Tax Spending In Tulsa

A few new members of Tulsa’s Sales Tax Overview Committee joined the group in January, as they plow through reports detailing how millions of dollars are spent.

The “STOC” reviews spending and quality on city projects, everything from individual vehicle purchases to the new dam on the Arkansas River.

At full strength, the committee has 21 members. Each city councilor gets two appointments and the mayor has three appointments with four year terms each.

Some people serve multiple terms, including Ashley Webb, the chair, for more than a decade. He said the diverse group is what makes it work.

“Everyone has their own unique strength or perspective they bring to the table, not just from their district, or background, but their expertise and career,” Webb said.

Matt Meyer, the retired director of River Parks is a new member, joining CPA Pamela Amburgy, now in her fourth year.

“Sometimes it's about the numbers and sometimes it's more of a qualitative question about what we're doing here,” said Amburgy.

The group sometimes visits projects, but usually their reports come in on paper from City departments.

After a review, the committee reports the progress to the City Council once a month.