City Government

By City of Tulsa staff

The City of Tulsa serves 411,401 citizens in our community and it is the 47th largest city in the United States. The City strongly pursues an organization-wide commitment to continuous improvement, but our deeper commitment is to bring all Tulsans along on our journey to excellence.

Incorporated nine years before Oklahoma statehood, the City operates under a homerule charter, amended by Tulsans in 1989 to establish a mayor-council form of government.

With a total annual budget approaching $1 billion, the City manages over $4 billion in capital assets, from a complex network of underground water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure to the world’s most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West at Gilcrease Museum.

Mission, vision and values

We rally around a clear mission, share an ambitious vision for our future and resolve to live and work by unwavering organizational and community values.

Our values reflect what unites us. We excel at representing different (even competing) interests across our diverse community and bringing people together — in a spirit of high expectations — to address critical challenges.

Public service

The City establishes local laws and public policies, builds and maintains the basic infrastructure that enables commerce and quality-of-life and delivers a variety of services and programs. These operations are managed through administrative and operating departments in addition to public trusts and public-private partnerships. We work every day across silos to provide quality services to all those who live, work and play in Tulsa.

Organizational relationships and structure

Citizens hold the leaders of all three branches of City government accountable through the election process. Elections are non-partisan, which gives Tulsa’s citizens a strong voice in each election. This power, along with the rights of initiative and referendum, provides citizens a strong governance role. The Mayor is elected for a four-year term; City Councilors and the City Auditor are elected for two-year terms.

The City of Tulsa also takes great strides to protect its financial health. In its July 2022 report, Moody’s Investors Service assigned the City of Tulsa an Aa1 rating with a stable outlook. Standard and Poor’s assigned an AA rating with a stable outlook for the City’s general obligation bonds in its July 2022 report. Reports of internal audit findings and financial reports, such as City Budgets and Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, are published on the City website.

Mission

Build the foundation for economic prosperity, improved health and enhanced quality of life for our community.

Vision

Tulsa will be a globally competitive, world-class city.

Values

Committed teamwork — we work together toward common goals.

High expectations — we expect excellence in our work, our organization and the city we are building.

Tulsa has a strong-mayor form of government. Responsible governance is ensured through checks and balances among three separate elected offices: the Mayor, the City Council and the City Auditor. The Mayor executes municipal laws and administers City operations. The City Council adopts municipal laws and policies and appropriates City funds. The City Auditor provides government oversight and ensures adequate protections are in place to manage risk.

The City’s Authorities, Boards and Commissions are empowered in different ways to achieve Citywide objectives. The ABCs assist in oversight and management of City operations, but also provide a citizen perspective. This ensures that residents have a voice in the prioritization of resources and delivery of services and products.

Transparency in operations is achieved through open records and open meetings. The City maintains records for public inspection and agendas with all items of business to be conducted are posted 24 hours in advance of public meetings. The City’s television channel, TGOV, broadcasts all City Council meetings and select ABCs to give interested parties a window into decision-making processes. Meetings are broadcast live, and once recorded, can be viewed anytime on the TGOV website. City Council meetings also are broadcast via Facebook Live.

Workforce profile

The City is one of the largest employers in our community, with 3,550 full-time public servants who are as diverse as the community they serve. In addition to a paid workforce, the City engages hundreds of citizen volunteers as well as unpaid interns to assist with special assignments and initiatives.

The annual employee survey helps identify how best to engage employees in achieving our mission and vision. The survey also provides feedback on employee satisfaction, morale and information on specific areas leaders need to focus on for improvement.

We have a vigorous commitment to safety. We require all employees to renew safety promises annually, carefully analyze and communicate injury data trends and provide a robust health and safety-training program with specific courses offered for different business functions.

Assets

Providing excellent services to citizens, visitors and businesses depends on reliable facilities, fleet, equipment and technology. Major facilities include:

• One Technology Center (including City Hall)

• 4,348 lane miles of city streets and 546 signalized intersections

• Lake Yahola, Unruh Reservoir, Lake Spavinaw, Lake Eucha and associated dam and transmission infrastructure

• Mohawk and A.B. Jewell water treatment plants, with the capacity to treat 220 million gallons of raw water per day, to be distributed through 2,332 miles of water lines

• 2,023 miles of underground sewer lines and 65 lift stations, moving wastewater to the Northside, Southside, Haikey Creek and Lower Bird Creek treatment plants

• 122 stormwater detention facilities and 64 miles of improved drainage channels

• 135 parks covering roughly 6,553 acres, including 57 miles of walking trails, 227 sports fields and 99 playgrounds

• 27 police facilities, including a municipal courthouse and jail

• 35 fire stations and related facilities

• Tulsa Performing Arts Center with five performance spaces, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the former World Trade Center towers

• Gilcrease Museum and its world-class collection

• Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum

• Cox Business Convention Center

• BOK Center, designed by Cesar Pelli

• Tulsa International Airport and Air Force Plant No. 3.

The City owns a fleet of 2,914 on-road vehicles, 1,422 pieces of off-road equipment and 146 fire engines, ladders and other apparatus. The Fleet Management Steering Committee and Equipment Management team utilize national standards to schedule preventative maintenance and replacement of fleet vehicles and equipment.

Organizational Structure Overview

Entity

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITY

Mayor (elected at large) Execute municipal laws. Administer City operations.

City Council (9 members; elected by district) Adopt municipal laws and policies. Appropriate City funds.

City Auditor (elected at large)

City Department (directors hired by Mayor)

Provide government oversight. Ensure adequate protections are in place to manage risk.

Manage personnel. Execute strategies and plans.

Authority (appointed) Acquire and manage or oversee management of assets.

Board or Commission (appointed) Review and recommend policy changes to Mayor and City Council.

Customers and stakeholders

The City has the privilege of serving residents, businesses, visitors and even our surrounding communities. A single person can be a City customer for many different services, each with different methods of delivery, providers and expectations.

To serve these many needs, businesses expect excellent City services and a high qualityof-life for their employees, including safety, well-maintained infrastructure and low taxes. Feedback from customers is a key part of the City’s strategy for continuous improvement, and we employ multiple methods to receive and respond to customers’ input, such as our consolidated 311 system.

For more information, visit cityoftulsa.org and tulsacouncil.org, or call 918-596-2100.