Photo of downtown Tulsa skyline at night ©Amatucci Photography
Mayor LaFortune Announces formation of Citizen’s Commission to study City Charter reform

Mayor Bill LaFortune today announced the formation of the Citizens’ Commission on City Government, which he has formed to study and make recommendations on how Tulsa’s City government structures can be improved through charter change.

While the commission will be free to look at any issues under the City Charter it chooses, LaFortune said his primary charge to the group is to study the structure of Tulsa’s government and decide if any changes should be made to improve its operation.

“There has been a lot of talk in recent months about our form of government and a group has even mounted an initiative petition drive to change the structure of the City Council,” he said. “This tells me it is time to take a careful look at the issue. To ensure it is done the right way, I am appointing a broad-based citizens group that will represent the entire city and its various interest groups.”

Mayor LaFortune announced that Hans Helmerich, CEO of Helmerich & Payne, and Ken Levit, president of OU-Tulsa, have agreed to serve as co-chairs of the commission. LaFortune is currently contacting other Tulsans to serve, and said he expects the full commission to have between 17 and 20 members. Other committee members as of 5 p.m. December 5, include: Tom McKeon, Tulsa Community College; C.S. Lewis, III; David Kelley, President of Magic Circle Neighborhood Association; Jerry Goodwin, Metropolitan Urban League; Stead Upham, President of the University of Tulsa; Howard Barnett, Tulsans for Better Government; Bill Schloss, Vice President of Warren Clinic; John Goodwin, Sinclair; and Michael Covey, South Tulsa Citizens Coalition.

“It is necessary that an issue this important to Tulsa’s future be decided by Tulsans in a thoughtful way and with input from everyone,” he said. “This commission will do just that.”

LaFortune said he has asked the commission to present its recommendations to the City by June 30, 2006.

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(Note: The formal Mayoral charge to the Citizens’ Commission is below.)

CITIZENS’ COMMISSION ON CITY GOVERNMENT

Charge from the Mayor

Dated December 5, 2005

To Members of the Citizens’ Commission on City Government:

As Mayor of the City of Tulsa, I have constituted a diverse group of citizens to review Tulsa’s government and its structures and to recommend any changes deemed necessary to improve its operation. This group will be called the “Citizens’ Commission on City Government,” and I have appointed Hans Helmerich and Ken Levit as co-chairs of the Commission.

The Commission will be responsible for setting its own rules of operation, with the following requirements in place:

  • All general meetings of the Commission will be open to the public.
  • Subcommittees or working groups made up of members of the commission may meet privately as long as their findings are delivered to the Commission as a whole in a public meeting.
  • The Commission will not be required to allow attending members of the public to speak at its meetings (although it can decide to), but the group will ensure that appropriate public input is received by holding not less than 4 public hearings in various geographic areas around the City.
  • The Commission will complete its work and make its recommendations to the Mayor’s office no later than June 30, 2006.

While the Commission is free to set its own agenda and inquire into any area of City government, your formal charge is to recommend any changes you find necessary after taking the following actions:

  • Review the governmental structures of various cities whose governmental structures are successful and develop a list of “best practices.”
  • Review Tulsa’s City Charter and the governmental structures it mandates, such as the various boards and commissions and the operation of the Mayor’s office.
  • In light of the recent initiative petition effort, review the current form of City government and the structure of the City Council.
  • Review the relationship under the Charter of the Mayor’s office and the City Council.
  • Review the powers of the various Charter-mandated departments, including the Mayor’s office and the City Council.

The Commission’s guiding principle will be to ensure Tulsa has the most efficient and effective government to meet the challenges of the 21st century for all Tulsa’s citizens and our children.

Kim MacLeod 596-7803