A recent compromise to use two-tenths of Tulsa’s upcoming Vision renewal on public safety may not be the final word.
A former state senator at this week's Vision public hearing urged city councilors to move ahead with a public safety funding package that would capture a total of three-tenths of a cent. James Williamson said citizens won’t care about economic development projects if they’re afraid of becoming crime victims.
"We can almost do it at least once a week about the amount of crime we're dealing with," Williamson said. "I just want to make it clear that I strongly support doing whatever it takes. If the council can find money elsewhere, wonderful."
A compromise announced earlier this month would use two-tenths from Vision and one-tenth from Improve Our Tulsa to pay for more cops and firefighters.
City Councilor Blake Ewing spoke out against the idea. He says the market has TV stations competing for viewers by over-hyping crime stories.
"And all it's doing is scaring the citizens of Tulsa into panic mode and, therefore, scaring elected people into chunking off parts of a Vision package for public safety," Ewing said.
Councilor Karen Gilbert, who announced the deal with Mayor Dewey Bartlett, disagreed.
"We can't increase our tax revenue and have businesses and have different amenities throughout our city and have our citizens go out and enjoy those new amenities if they don't feel safe," Gilbert said.
Not all councilors have said they support Bartlett and Gilbert's compromise.
