A new spending plan for Tulsa County is about ready, and unlike many area cities, it does not include many cutbacks. In fact, most department budgets are the same as the current fiscal year…and there is some improvement. Chief Fiscal Officer Tom Gerard says the county depends mostly on property taxes and not so much on sales taxes. With a slight improvement in the housing market, it’s a positive for the county and services it offers. He says for the first time in half a dozen years, the county may be able to fill some positions that have been on hold because of budget pressures and pay inadequacies.
Gerard says small wage increases offered employees in the current budget can be absorbed in the new budget without cutbacks, another positive.