By KWGS News
Tulsa, OK – Mayor Dewey Bartlett announced today that KPMG, a national management consulting firm specializing in business performance services for the public sector, has been engaged to conduct a strategic review of services provided by the City of Tulsa.
The review will be conducted over a 16-week period in order to meet a goal of incorporating some of the recommendations into the budget for Fiscal Year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010.
In making the announcement, Bartlett was joined by KPMG Partner Bridget M. Anderson, Partner Steve Estes and Managing Director Jeffrey S. Wong, the team leading the assessment. The review is being funded with a lead gift from the George Kaiser Family Foundation and other private donors through the Tulsa Community Foundation.
The review will include 20 City departments under the Mayor's responsibility. It will not include Airports (operated in conjunction with the Tulsa Airport Authority), Gilcrease Museum (Gilcrease management is contracted by the University of Tulsa) or the City Council.
"The present economic challenges have shown that the City of Tulsa needs to be in a better position to successfully weather national recessions and continue providing core services even as sales tax collections decline," said Mayor Bartlett. "While we know that the primary source for our general operations - the 2 cent sales tax - is sometimes inconsistent, declines should not impact our ability to provide the services citizens expect from local government.
"This assessment will focus on our core services, and give us recommendations for how we provide those services in a more efficient way. We greatly appreciate the donors who have agreed to fund this study. We believe it will give us a blueprint for managing more effective public service."
The objectives are to assess the City's current services to identify strategic opportunities to reduce costs, enhance revenues, consolidate administrative functions and identify services that do not meet strategic or budget priorities. The assessment will begin this month.
City of Tulsa Auditor Preston Doerflinger stated, "I am very excited about the KPMG project and pledge my full support and the resources of internal auditing. This is truly an exciting day for all of Tulsa."
As one of the city's largest employers, the City of Tulsa has approximately 4,000 employees and serves about 400,000 residents.
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