Public Works Committee reviews three sinking‑fund settlements totalling $1,105,000; final council action required

City of Tulsa legal and treasury staff briefed the Public Works Committee on three separate resolutions that would authorize payments from the city’s sinking fund to resolve pending civil judgments and attorney‑fee awards.

Chad Becker, treasury staff, told the committee the sinking fund had sufficient cash to cover the proposed payments. “As of today, sinking fund balance is 81,600,000.0,” Becker said when summarizing fund availability.

Hayes Martin, assistant city attorney, described a $30,000 settlement in a public records dispute. The case, filed as CV‑2022‑2584 (Oklahoma Watch Inc. and Whitney Bridal v. City of Tulsa), arose from requests for law‑enforcement records; Martin said parties negotiated a settlement that reflected the mix of claims and anticipated court outcomes and that plaintiffs would receive $30,000 in attorney fees.

Lawson Vaughn of the litigation division summarized an officer‑involved‑shooting case that led to a $375,000 settlement. Vaughn said plaintiff Michael Delaney was shot in the left shoulder while fleeing the scene during a traffic stop on March 20, 2020, and that the city and officers had litigated issues including scope of employment and qualified immunity. "He was shot in the left shoulder as he was fleeing the scene, and he was subsequently apprehended," Vaughn said. Vaughn also said the officer involved was later terminated after an internal review and was indicted by a grand jury on reckless use of a firearm; Vaughn described the case as mediated and settled for $375,000.

Michelle McGrew of the litigation division described a separate 1983 civil‑rights action filed by Sheila Buck arising from an arrest at a June 20, 2020 political rally. McGrew said Buck alleged First Amendment violations for refusing an officer’s order to leave while wearing a shirt she intended to wear later that read “I can’t breathe.” The parties agreed to settle for $700,000 in part to limit the risk of larger attorney‑fee awards if the case proceeded. McGrew said the mayor authorized the settlement at a mediation on April 23; she noted that prior settlement discussions exceeding $1 million had required council approval and in a previous mayoral referral had split on a council vote.

Committee members pressed staff on public access to court filings and asked for concise, council‑oriented summaries of case records. Councilor DeBrite asked that staff provide one‑page settlement summaries or direct links to OSCN (state court) or PACER (federal court) filings so councilors and the public could review the factual record without wading through voluminous filings. Legal staff agreed to provide clearer, condensed summaries that explain the basic facts and the city’s decision points.

The committee’s role was to determine that the sinking fund had sufficient cash to pay the judgments; final approval and payment paperwork would proceed after council action. No formal committee vote to approve payments was recorded during the discussion; staff said payments would be issued upon council approval and processed through the county levy and sinking‑fund repayment procedures.

Ending: Committee members asked legal staff to prepare brief summaries and accessible filing references for each case before the full council votes.