A working group presented a plan this week to spend $50 million of the City of Tulsa’s $88 million in American Rescue Plan funding.
Funds can be spent in a variety of areas, not just on pandemic recovery. Tulsa’s plan gives public safety the biggest chunk, $17 million. Almost $9 million of that will go toward buying new fire trucks.
“Far and away, the top need for the department recognized by Tulsa firefighters is upgrading the fleet. It's been allowed to get very run down. Thanks to the voters, we have funding in Improve Our Tulsa, but it's not enough to replace as many fire trucks as we need to. This would cover that gap.,” said Mayor G.T. Bynum.
Public safety allocations also include money for the Tulsa Police Department to buy body cameras and relocate its helicopter facility.
The working group recommended $11 million for economic development and tourism initiatives. The plan sets aside $7 million for a new tower at Tulsa International Airport. Bynum said the hope is the airport and Tulsa County will kick in $7 million each and the state will match the $21 million in local funding to replace the aging structure.
“The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission has said that this is the most pressing airport project in the entire state. And so, we would hope that we would get support not just locally, but from other communities and from the state government,” Bynum said.
Bynum said potential federal funding could be denied because the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t build the tower originally.
The working group’s plan calls for putting $7.5 million toward justice reform. A portion of that is for municipal court initiatives like expanding court hours, making it easier to pay fines and fees, and giving public defenders additional support. Those steps were recommended by another group working to address racial disparities identified in Tulsa’s justice system.
“The ARPA funds give us a pretty unique and very rare opportunity to make good on many of the promises we made during the Equality Indicators meetings that we had, especially as it pertains to giving an equitable path to every single person in our community,” said Councilor Phil Lakin.
Recommended justice reform spending includes $1 million for the Saving Our Homes initiative. Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said it will involve an escrow account and other assistance so fewer people lose their homes because they got behind on property taxes.
“We know that at the state level and this is mandated by the state you can only divide your property tax payments at the most into two payments. Where if people had an opportunity to make monthly payments toward their property tax have a better chance of paying,” Hall-Harper said.
Public health needs and infrastructure are also in line for funding if the city council approves the spending plan next month.
The city has already allocated $18 million of its ARPA funding, putting it toward initiatives like employee retention bonuses, local nonprofit grants and a vaccination incentive. The money is coming in two 50% distributions, so items the city is recommending for funding may not get it right away.
ARPA funds must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
