State of the City Address: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa City Mayor G.T. Bynum delivered the 2022 State of the City Address to a packed audience of more than 1,000 people last week, and while some of it appeared to be par for the course as far as Oklahoma politics (and cities) are concerned, there were some very lofty goals presented. Among the various issues that Bynum highlighted in his speech the two most prevalent issues at hand were housing and policing.
Policing
Increased recruitment efforts by administering a $15,000 sign-on bonus for candidates that graduate from the Tulsa Police Academy. This is in an effort to replace officers that are quitting or retiring, and to reach the intended goal of 90 officers.
Completion of a Real Time Information Center that would help capture crimes more quickly, especially in areas with less monitoring. This is to help bridge the gap between responding to a crime-in-progress as opposed to a crime-after-the-fact. This project is also following collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mayor Bynum highlighted what he felt was a “toxic national dialogue” that “demonizes police officers” and that as a result hiring new officers has been hampered. Despite the broad fact that police are supported by the Tulsa community, it seems to me a missed opportunity to continue highlighting the areas of improvement beyond pay and recruitment.
Fire Department
No major changes were reflected in Mayor Bynum’s speech as he highlighted that the Tulsa Fire Department remains one of the best in the country, and to brag about increasing their pay.
Mental Health Crisis Intervention
Collaborate with the Tulsa City Council to generate $1,000,000 to build an Urgent Recovery Center entirely for addressing the mental health needs of children and families 24/7.
As with much of the country, and across the state of Oklahoma, Tulsa saw an overwhelming increase in the number of children attempting suicide. Mayor Bynum offered an estimated that 4,000 children in Tulsa attempted suicide with 1,300 needing hospitalization. That’s a rate of 10 children a day needing medical care, with an estimated number of days hospitalized between 14 and 28 days.
Housing & Addressing Homelessness
Continued emphasis on policy work to help address funding for services and agencies dedicated to addressing homelessness.
Creation of a low barrier shelter.
Collaborate with the faith based community to help augment the lack of emergency shelters during times of extreme weather.
Raise $500-million in funds from private and public sectors to help invest in housing projects over the next two years.
Tulsa, Oklahoma has a large coalition of agencies - A Way Home For Tulsa - that have been working for decades to help respond to and prevent homelessness. $500-million is a lot of money, and in contrast to their annual city budget means an increase of 27% two years in a row. Moreover, this would likely create around 2,100 units, which would, if done adequately, meet the growing need.
All-in-all, Mayor Bynum has offered some ideas that address fundamental gaps in care to the most vulnerable populations in the city that he represents, and it is a welcome set of goals.