Tulsa Mayor-elect G.T. Bynum is wrapping up preparations before taking office next week.
The city charter requires the mayor to submit a list of officers who can fill in for him. Bynum said one example is if he’s outside the city and something needs to be signed.
"Also, if the mayor happens to get hit by a bus, you would go down this list as well," Bynum said. "Though, thankfully, we haven't had that, hopefully won't in the next four years."
"We don't have enough buses," Councilor Blake Ewing said.
Bynum’s list is, in order, Deputy Mayor Michael Junk, Chief of Staff Jack Blair, Deputy Chief of Staff Amy Brown, Chief of Economic Development Kathy Taylor, Chief of Community Development and Policy Nick Doctor, Chief of Performance Strategy and Innovation James Wagner, and Finance Director Mike Kier.
Bynum also wants to shake up city hall a bit when he takes office.
He's proposed getting rid of the city manager’s office and creating an office of community development and policy that will help implement his campaign agenda.
"One of the things that I was warned about by every single former mayor and our current mayor as well is that mayors tend to run on an agenda and then get elected and then spend all their time ... dealing with the crisis of the day," Bynum said.
Bynum also proposed an organizational structure with eight different divisions encompassing all city departments. Five of those divisions will be under Blair, and Bynum said their leaders will serve as points of contact.
"Right now, they're very much division heads, so it's a layer of management. That will not be how we're utilizing them," Bynum said.
The divisions not under Blair are planning and development, police protection, and fire safety and emergency response. Those will report to Taylor, Police Chief Chuck Jordan and Fire Chief Ray Driskell, respectively.
Bynum said his organizational changes will foster better communication across city departments. The city council must approve his proposals, which it's likely to do at a special meeting Monday after city inaugurations.
