Frequently Asked Questions
Municipalities and states across the nation are reeling from the
national economic decline. Oklahoma and Tulsa are no
exceptions. The City of Tulsa must reduce expenditures to keep
the budget balanced.
The City began this fiscal year $12 million below the FY 2008-09
budget in the general fund. The original FY 2009-10 budget was
based on revenue forecasts that anticipated several months of
continuing revenue decline. The City avoided substantial
layoffs by furloughing city employees, not filling vacancies, and
taking additional cuts in departmental budgets. Unfortunately, that
alone was not enough. The City has had to further reduce the
general operating fund by an additional $6 million.
Leading into FY 2009-10, City leaders announced revenue and
expenditure trends would be closely monitored on a monthly basis,
and made it clear that if revenues declined or expenses increased
more than originally predicted it would trigger the need for
further reductions. While expenses were managed within budget by
departments, revenues declined well below anticipated
forecasts. This revenue shortfall triggered the additional $6
million reductions currently being implemented.
Frequently Asked Questions
There has been intense public interest in the most recent round
of reductions. The original budget reductions left the City with
few options but to look at eliminating some filled positions. As
part of the FY 10 budget reductions, the beginning of the fiscal
year, the City has eliminated 153 positions. The City has
eliminated 119 positions from the general fund, including two with
intergovernmental agencies we support.
All Department heads made recommendations on how to best reduce
their budgets. Some Departments, such as Fire, were able to come to
agreements with Union representatives about internal restructuring
and other monetary concessions that made it possible to avoid
layoffs in their Departments.
Not all Departments were able to come to such agreements. While
21 layoffs in the Police Department were planned, the receipt of
COPS grant funding enabled the City to reinstate 18 police officers
within seven days so they did not miss a day of pay or benefits.
The three remaining officers have been offered positions as Airport
Officers or with Tulsa Public Schools' police force.
The reductions we began making in October and November satisfied
the most recent 2.5 percent additional savings asked of each and
every Department.
The questions below focus mainly on the reductions made in the
second round of reductions, which are now being implemented.
How many layoffs will result?
The City eliminated 119 general fund (those whose salaries were
included in the general fund) positions since July 1, 2009. This
included:
- 61 sworn and non-sworn positions eliminated from the City
payroll in November. Of those 24 were vacant; 37 were filled.
- Of the 37 filled, 21 were police officers. 18 of those officers
rehired through the COPS grant federal funding. We are attempting
to find alternative positions for the remaining three.
How do the reductions affect Tulsa's public
safety?
Although police and fire academies will be eliminated this year,
public safety will not be jeopardized. The Fire and Police
Departments will allocate resources to the areas where they are
needed most.
We would never compromise public safety. Nine police officers
from specialty units will be reassigned.
The goal is to put all available officers back on the street.
Officers from discontinued units, including air support and mounted
patrol, will be reassigned with this goal in mind. Tulsa Police
management will reallocate resources to cover shifts, including
reassigning officers previously on specialty assignments back to
the field where they will directly answer 911 calls. While this may
temporarily result in minor interruptions to certain
investigations, and increase some workloads, the Police
administration is confident they can manage these adjustments in a
way that maintains public safety. In addition, citywide staffing
procedures will be implemented to reduce overtime costs. For
example, instead of calling back off-duty officers due to vacation
or illness, the three uniform divisions (north, southwest and east)
will share resources so that officers are assigned where they are
most needed.
For the fiscal year beginning July 1, Tulsa Fire Department
management was able to find savings through reorganization and by
making reductions within their budget. In addition, the Fire
Fighters Union made considerable financial concessions during
initial budget reductions specifically to avoid laying-off fire
fighters. These concessions included monetary reductions in
benefits of more than $1 million dollars, which exceeded their fair
share of the needed savings.
The elimination of an academy will slow replacement of
firefighters lost to retirement, but resources will be redeployed
as necessary to meet manpower needs. The Department's
reorganization will occur over a period of three years and will
result in long-term operational savings, instead of short-term
reductions designed solely to meet current budget projections. The
Department continues to monitor the savings from the
reorganization, and will look for additional reductions if the
savings are not realized.
Why are you eliminating the Mounted Patrol and selling
the horses?
The officers in the Mounted Patrol will be reassigned. Equipment
associated with the division will be sold. Hillcrest Medical Center
has donated funds to the Tulsa Community Foundation to buy the
horses at fair market value so that they can be donated to
non-profit organizations that operate equestrian programs. Read
more in the news
release.
Why did the City move into a new City Hall and build a
new ballpark when the City has budget problems?
The city's budget reductions are due to shortfalls in operational
revenues, such as sales tax. One Technology Center and the ballpark
are supported from entirely different funding mechanisms. The City
consolidated five buildings into one location to use space more
efficiently. There were also many intangible benefits to this, such
as improved communications between departments and less travel for
meetings. For the purchase of the building, revenue bonds were
issued and lease payments from occupants of the One Technology
Center were used to repay the bonds. Neither the purchase of One
Technology Center nor the operation of the building contributed to
the city's current budget problems. OTC Fact Sheet
The ballpark construction is being paid with private donations,
with the remaining debt funded through the downtown business
improvement district which assesses businesses and residents in the
district who directly or indirectly benefit from increased property
values associated with the downtown stadium and other amenities.
Like other property owners downtown, The City of Tulsa pays an
assessment based on the properties it owns within the district,
just as it always has.
Will we have funding to handle another natural disaster,
like the 2007 ice storm?
Throughout this reduction, the City has preserved its operating
reserve, which may be used for emergencies such as winter weather
disasters and other crises.
Aren't there other costs the City can
reduce?
City officials continuously review expenses for possible
efficiencies and reductions. Through the employment of the LEAN
processes used in the private sector, former Mayor Taylor began a
High Performance Government initiative that has led to more than $5
million in savings in various areas from payroll to purchasing.
The City has reduced its vehicle fleet by more than 225 cars.
This will raise one-time money for the operating budget through the
sale of the vehicles, and will also reduce annual expenses for fuel
and maintenance by over $150,000.
Facts regarding the recent workforce
reduction:
The total number of positions reduced since July 1 is 119. In
the most recent reductions made in November, 61 positions were
eliminated. Of these, 37 were filled and 24 were vacant; 18 police
officers were hired
back through the COPS grant.
Since July 1, only 10 non-sworn City employees and three sworn
officers were laid off as a result of budget reductions.
All but three of the employees received a severance. The three
who did not are probationary employees.
- Severance is based on years of service. Non-probationary
employees who have up to six years of service receive 80 hours of
severance pay.
- Employees also received compensation for earned vacation
leave.
- Employees and their families are eligible for up to 18 months
of insurance coverage through COBRA.
- Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA) provides for premium reductions and additional election
opportunities for health benefits under COBRA for up to nine months
after an involuntary termination of employment. Eligible
individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the
remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through
a tax credit.
- All non-probationary employees may elect recall benefits.
