Tulsa mayor pushes 0.7‑penny sales tax proposal to fund homelessness, public safety, youth programs and business support
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Summary
Mayor (Speaker 1) outlined a package that would place a 0.7‑tenths‑of‑a‑penny city sales tax before voters to raise roughly $80 million for homelessness services, police and fire funding, youth workforce and after‑school programs, and business retention loans; councilors pressed for more detail and time before agreeing to put the measure on the ballot.
Mayor (Speaker 1) presented a broad funding package that would ask Tulsa voters to approve an increase described in the meeting as "7 tenths of a penny" in city sales tax. The administration estimated the measure would generate roughly $80 million and earmark funding for: homelessness response (including a $30,000,000 scale‑up to low‑barrier shelter and encampment decommissioning via a partner plan labeled CLUTCH and by expanding SafeMove Tulsa); public safety (pay increases for police and fire plus a $2,000,000 phased investment toward authorized police staffing); youth programs administered by the Office of Children, Family and Youth (a $15,000,000 package split into a $7.5M youth workforce program serving about 1,200 participants annually and $7.5M for after‑school/summer programming estimated to reach 22,000 children); and economic development (about $7.5M for business retention and revolving loans).
The mayor described the package as an effort to sustain and scale existing programs, noting the city currently receives a federal community violence intervention grant of about $2,000,000 total (roughly $750,000 per year) and that the proposed local revenue would augment that work after the grant ends. The proposal would also aim to address recruitment and retention in public safety by phasing in pay adjustments and additional positions.
The administration provided illustrative household impacts: a $100 purchase would cost roughly $0.70 more and a $1,000 purchase about $7 more under the proposed rate; the staff spreadsheet presented median and family estimates and cautioned those figures likely overstate impact because they assume only Tulsa residents pay Tulsa sales tax. The mayor said if voters approve the measure and the election is held on the proposed timeline the revenue would be available for the next budget cycle.
No formal vote on placing the measure on the ballot occurred during this meeting. The mayor asked the council to take a vote on Nov. 19 on whether to send the measure to voters for a Feb. 10, 2026 special election; councilors requested additional detail, scoring methodology and protections for how the funds would be used before committing to that timeline. The meeting ended without a recorded motion on the tax measure.
