Tulsa County Commissioners are hiring a person to manage the newly formed Office of Government Efficiency and Transparency, or OGET.
“Efficiency” and “transparency” are synonymous with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. That White House department, headed by Elon Musk, has become a bugaboo for many as it slashes federal jobs, cuts programs and terminates building leases across the country.
Still, the county wants to be more transparent and efficient. To help better understand efficiency and transparency, county commissioners hosted State Auditor Cindy Byrd Tuesday. Byrd is a big fan of how county government runs, praising state statutes around record keeping.
“I’ve said this often and I mean it. It is the most transparent level of government we have,” Byrd said.
Byrd gave the commissioners advice on conducting audits at the meeting.
The OGET manager position is posted on Indeed. The essential job functions are wide ranging, including community outreach, operational audits and studies, and grant administration.
District 2 County Commissioner and Chairman Lonnie Sims said he wants the person hired to better explain information to constituents and to meet them where they are digitally.
“Whether it be social media, whether it be, you hate to say it, the kids with TikTok and some of these other things,” Sims said. “We’ve got to be adaptive to that and meet our customers, which are the taxpayers, where they’re at.”
District 1 County Commissioner Stan Sallee expects the manager to help Tulsa County at the state level.
“We have some areas that we need better communication at the Capitol,” Sallee said.
Sallee continued by saying the person hired could help bring county legislation to the Statehouse and make the legislation more concise, informative and easily understandable.
The salaried position pays more than $80,000 annually. The funds for OGET manager were originally slated for a government relations specialist. The managerial position is expected to be filled by the end of the month.
