In Tulsa Today Interview, Bartlett Discusses City’s Challenges
Written by David Arnett
Thursday, 18 April 2013 07:39
In the race for Mayor of Tulsa, Dewey Bartlett is the incumbent having served for over three years. In this exclusive Tulsa Today interview, Bartlett discusses the job, the city, and the first so-called “non-partisan” race in Tulsa’s history.
Question: Mayor Bartlett, would you describe the state of the City when you took office.
Bartlett: The big event the first day, December 7, at 11:00 am was when City Finance Director Mike Kier told me that the budget projections (twice previously revised downward) were off in the final tally by about $2 million. The check for sales taxes arrived that day from the State of Oklahoma. At the rate the City of Tulsa was spending money, we would be out of cash and unable to pay the salaries of employees by March. To make it to the end of the fiscal year we would have to cut our expenses by $10 million – which meant significant layoffs.
My first thought: he was joking. He wasn’t. I called my staff for a meeting and Kier made the presentation again and, when he was done, the entire room was shocked silent.