City delays probe
Tulsa’s City Council will delay launching its own investigation into one of the many scandals in Mayor Kathy Taylor’s Administration because of a hesitancy to turn over records.
Councilor Bill Christiansen finally got Taylor to turn over a group of e-mails that are central to an investigation of Tulsa’s misspending of $1.5 million in federal grant funds.
The council has the authority to launch its own investigation, particularly if city bureaucrats are suspected of wrongdoing. The last council investigation was of the bankrupt Great Plains Airlines during the Bill LaFortune Administration.
Taylor’s administration has been rocked by the federal indictment of two former managers in the Public Works Department who are accused of taking bribes; financial irregularities in Tulsa Transit; and improper training records in the fire department.
In 2008, the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ruled that the Tulsa Development Authority wrongfully spent Community Development Block Grant funds from October 2005 and September 2007 for city employees’ salaries. Tulsa had to repay that money, which was designated for low-income residents. Councilors want to know why this happened and how it can be prevented in the future.
Councilors are considering amendments to the City Charter that could go to the voters in the November 10 election.
One possibility is extending the current term of councilors from two years to four years. Some councilors complain that newly elected representatives spend their first year getting to know the job and the second year running for re-election.
Another possible amendment is a limit on the mayor’s ability to settle lawsuits. It would cap the mayor’s jurisdiction at one million dollars without council approval. This was prompted by Taylor’s giving $7.1 million to the Bank of Oklahoma in a settlement over a suit over a loan to Great Plains Airlines.
The council had no voice in approving that huge payment. Lawsuit settlement payments are generally paid out of the sinking fund, not the city’s general fund. The sinking fund gets money from property tax as needed. In 2008, that fund collected more than $30 million from city taxpayers.
A third proposal is to make the city auditor an appointed position, rather than elected, and to base the pay on experience. It would also add certification and education requirements.