Item three minutes of the meetings A minutes of February 17th, 2026 Focus Committee meeting and B minutes of February 24th, 2026 full board meeting.

Do I have any revision?

I would entertain a motion to accept.

Motion acts.

We had 497 more tons.

And if you look at the to the right there, you'll see for the year we've had uh eight recycling carts removed and six of those were in February for platinum contamination.

We uh lost another 14 twice a week customers at go away again in October.

Next page.

And the green waste, um, I I was kind of looking at this graph and and I noticed kind of the how it looked like we had a lot of green waste coming in, we weren't really grinding much, so I got with the staff out there and talk.

We're not we're not getting a lot more green waste coming in because we got rid of the the contractor side, so they're letting the green waste build up before they kick open the grinder and start doing a full grind.

So you can kind of see for January we had a lot coming in, didn't do much grinding, but in February they caught back up on all their grinding.

So if you look at that graph chart, that's kind of what that looks like.

It's not like we're looking off lop side anymore, it's because we're we're not getting a lot of green waste in, so it's not worth kind of really starting to grinder up over a small batch, so they're kind of like pile up before we get to it.

Uh what they're doing in the meantime out there, they've done a lot of site cleanup.

Um not sure if you go out there often, but we put a gate in on the west side off 129th, and that took forever, but it's finally accomplished.

But in the meantime, what we're doing is we're clearing that whole uh area up so on a blind spot when we did get the gate in so people come in, see vehicles coming in, it wouldn't be no accidents.

So we've kind of cleared out the whole fence line.

Uh it's it looks a lot cleaner out there, so they're they're not just setting idle out there.

Is that the area where there was an accident last year?

When there are no that was the main gate where we had the contractors coming in.

This is our secondary gate.

Like if we have a weather event, a lot of times you'll have people coming on the front side, bringing all the ways, but then we're as we're collecting allows us a back way in so that we're not in interacting with the public.

Okay.

Because it's site there's a land reclamation site up there, so that site's used for like water departments, stormwater, bring their siltation and their spoils out there to dump.

So instead of having to wait on contract, like some during storm business contractors coming in, they'd come and access gate and not wait in line.

Okay.

Used to be a gate, and we just made it worse.

What is um ask just what is the best way?

Um like we're putting it in a community garden on the 18th, and so we're gonna need kind of a large bunch of mulch.

Um, and rather than just getting every neighbor to come out at the same time, is there a way that we can tell you that we're coming or request, you know, so that's if you have a dump truck or a trailer or something, we we have the capabilities of loading it with a front end loader so we can load it for you right now.

And most of our mulch we have out there is fine mulch because now we're not having to display keep up, we're actually producing pretty much all of our fine mulch now.

So it's actually really good mulch.

Um, should we should we call ahead or email or anything?

No, just show up to the main gate.

We we have a lot.

Okay.

Okay.

Um, and are the lines better out there since the contractors aren't there?

Yes.

I don't want to have my volunteers be a little late in my lines are the lines are way down.

This night and day difference now.

Okay.

Just checking.

Thank you.

What color is it?

The mulch.

It's just yeah, it's natural.

It's kind of a darker brown right now.

Right.

Starts light brown as the ages.

It's darker brown.

If you're wanting some colored uh mulch, the contractor in store has brought some in from Kansas City.

Uh that has a few stop piles there.

So if you want some more decorative mulch, uh you're you'll have to pay for it.

It's available out there at his site.

I don't know what their pricing here, but when it's a Kansas City, the bulk price is way cheaper than one buying a bunch of bags.

So it's as long as you got a method or somebody that could go get it for you and pay, but it's uh my fill up some bags.

I ordered from the Cub Scouts.

Bring it to you.

Yeah, sounds okay.

And then next page, the bulky waste times.

If you look at last year's number, we're 171 tons.

This year we're 197.

We have had a lot more warm days coming into the spring, so it's been like summer.

So our numbers are kind of up there.

And if you look at the legal dumping, same thing.

We're our numbers are up from last year, and I again I contribute that to the warmer weather we've had uh in February and March as well.

And if you look at the uh the tons collected via DC dumpsters, uh those numbers are higher again.

We've been assisting with the homeless cleanup, so those numbers are always gonna be or have been last few months uh high because of that.

We've also seen a lot more uh other state departments doing cleanups in their yards, so we've seen some increases in tonnage coming from their yards as well.

And that's all I have on my uh tone report.

I did want to just mention something on the side.

Um the uh recycling audit happened this past Saturday.

I'm not sure if everyone saw the email that came out that uh we were I said 6.6, it's actually 6.06 um percent less than what our last thought it was.

And we're currently at this last thought it was at 22.78, which according to Robert Pickens is the lowest we've had since it opened or the 24.

So that's uh congratulations.

That's amazing.

And I think that's gonna be a good one.

Especially post-COVID.

People got really bad habits.

You guys uh allowed me to get Casey Row's position, so I think you know she did a great job in helping us promote and educate people and along with Josh and then the audit staff and new solutions doing their audits as well.

I think you know that helped us uh do some educational and pulling carts as well.

I think all of it helps.

I think it's a big team effort.

Yeah, we plan on staying aggressive on the recycling cars because I do think that's helping a lot.

That's great.

That's been a long time of coming.

Yeah, we need to keep plugging away.

What's the difference between the number of trash carts and the number of recycle carts?

Well, we just have tons.

I don't have actual carts.

You want it, are you wanting cart numbers?

I can get curious.

Yeah.

I mean, most people when they order service, they you they get them both.

Most people don't request not to have recycling present.

I mean, the great great majority of people don't turn down a recycling cart.

So I'm I would attribute the difference to your efforts.

I'd I'd be curious.

Yep.

It's no hurry.

Well, that's all I had for my report.

Okay.

Awesome.

Uh item B manager's report, Brian Lewis.

I like it, Brian.

Good.

How are you?

Yes.

Um, we kind of threw this in, but I think we can wait till the end.

We could if you want to push us to the end.

Yeah, we'll do we'll do that under I think item seven, if that's okay with it.

Yeah.

Yes.

All right.

Go ahead, Frank.

Sure.

I got the numbers for our household pollute and collection facility report for February of 26.

Uh, compared to February 25, we had 157 more customers visit the household pollute collection facility.

That's that's an incredible increase.

Uh which totaled to 11,500 more pounds collected than last year as well.

And the numbers are kind of ticking up into that spring season, so I expect uh as Terry said last time.

Um March is gonna explode with a lot of uh spring cleaning and the the uh med event that happened recently too, so I expect to see those numbers go way up.

Uh we had 351 total customers, um 298 of those were Tulsa residents.

We had 27,562 pounds collected this in a February, uh which is 79 pounds per customer.

Uh 127 swap shop customers taking out 449 items um with uh about 1300 pounds totaled out of those items.

And speaking of the swap shop, our we you know we put that limit on it a couple of months ago for folks who are not bringing in pollutants.

That seems to have worked out.

We did not lose any participation from those folks, but they've started bringing in pollutants before they visit the swap shop.

So we've kind of considered that a success.

And I think we're ironed out to where starting tomorrow we'll just revert back to the five items for free for everybody and see how that goes, especially with the influx of stuff we're getting in in March.

Um we got more stuff we can put on the shelves.

I think that'll work out pretty well.

And we're moving forward on the insulation of the building, and we're also talking about uh what it's gonna look like with the bathroom installation too.

So more to come on that.

Great.

That's all I've got.

The insulation bids came in pretty decent.

So it looks like we may be able to go ahead and squeeze the do like a unisex bathroom this year with the remaining money.

We're getting some pricing.

But our hope is we can go ahead.

So then really all we'll have to look at for future funding will be the conditioning of the space if this works out.

Great needs.

Spray foam.

So it'll be two-inch closed cell spray foam on the walls and then a three-inch on the ceiling and the gable ends.

So that should this should work out.

And then it gets covered with the uh paint that's um fire resistant, yeah, um, specialized for facilities that'll have that kind of stuff in there.

So should be all safe and ready to go.

Great meetings.

Kind of excited about the bathroom after.

Yeah, same.

Yeah, all right.

For you all, not for me.

We'll probably all need a potty break if we can visit.

Can we ever see the doctor?

Yeah, so absolutely.

That's good.

And then so in a couple months we'll do uh when we start this we'll start working on getting some cost estimates uh over the summer, so then probably late summer, early fall, we'll start bringing that to you all.

Probably hopefully we'll have something by July or August.

We can bring that to you all as orders what that looks like as far as cost options of doing something in the building.

All right, perfect.

That's all I had.

Any other questions?

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Item five, monthly financial report for the period ending February 28, 2026.

Hi, hi, how are you guys?

Good.

Um, can we go to the this I'm gonna say two?

Um, so we have our numbers in through February now.

Um we have four months left in the fiscal year, so getting closer.

Um our total revenues in the tariff fund, we have 28.4 million.

Um we had an estimate that we'd be 66.1% um of revenues in so far at this point in the year, and we're at 68.82, so we're doing a little bit um better than expected there.

We're over by about 1.1 million in total revenues.

Um charges for services um on our own are 27.5, 27.6 million, and those are over budget um by 753,000.

Um what's driving most of the over um revenue in overall are is the um investment income that's performed been performing all year really well.

Um on the expenditures, as you can see, we now um have kind of flipped on our encumbrances uh versus expenditures.

So in the first part of the year, as you're aware of the encumbrances could be uh majority of all of the expense category because a lot of things are contracts are entered into at the beginning of the fiscal year commitments made for um the remainder of the fiscal year.

And then as those um actual uh expenses are hitting those contracts and uh money's going out the door, then it turns into expenses.

Um so now we're seeing where the expenses are 23.3 million and the encumbrances are 14.9.

Um, and as the rest of the fiscal year goes on, we should see the the expenses just become more uh a larger portion of that pie chart.

Um so we have total expenses of 38.2 million.

And we're about 80.89, and that that about 10% difference is the encumbrances that make it appear a little bit a little bit faster at this point in the year.

Of course, we won't expect that to be the rate at which we spend continuing on.

So as I mentioned, it's about four months left of this fiscal year, so we're getting to the point where we'll start looking at um FY26 spending.

So this current fiscal year spending and year-end estimates, and if we think we're gonna have any issues with going over budget in any areas, and are they doing budget amendments or um moving funds around within the budget to help cover any areas where um we might be running over with areas where it might be running under?

Um right now I don't foresee any any concern with any any need to move anything around that I'm aware of at this point.

So I think we should expect to finish out the year pretty pretty much as expected as we budgeted.

So you just have a little more revenue, yes, except for that exception.

Yep.

Questions or anything?

Okay, thank you.

Um interest running as far as I know, yes.

Yep.

Sure.

All right, item six Tulsa County multi-site MOE fill.

Yes, um, brought this up in the focus meeting.

Um Tulsa County would like to reinstate their MOU, but only for their government vehicles and not the residents.

And I recommend that we uh go ahead and allow that MO to go through as long as it's okay.

I'll move.

Second all workers say aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

I am seven bulky waste rate budget scenarios, shall okay.

You were two different rate models, and the only difference between these is one has uh the bulky waste increase from ten to twenty dollars, and the other does not.

Um so you'll see uh the difference in those reflected in the fund balance.

Just so you all know if you have side by five, there's a blue line right here that tells you which model run through this issue.

Oh, okay.

So basically, why we need to we're to the point where we need to determine what for sure we're we need to finalize our rate model, and from that we need the board to decide are we going to do ten dollars or twenty dollars uh for the bulk of the waste, so that's what's in front of you today.

I'm sorry, I missed last week.

So what was the latest quite a robust conversation?

I would imagine when I told us come through, I was like, I bet there was some yeah.

Who wants to jump in there?

I guess some of us don't really want to.

I don't think it's material, I think we ought to live like it is.

We've been subsidizing that for a long time in the five-year projections at the end of the year, the last year of the projection, it's a few hundred thousand, a couple hundred thousand dollar difference in the fund balance.

Um so I don't I don't think we think it's I got to be privy to a couple different conversations and big a deal.

The the general consensus was that if we go ahead and raise it to twenty dollars, um, and even including your um compensation for people who don't um who need help financially, um not everybody is represented by neighborhood associations or or liaisons or whatever you call it.

So and but a lot of people who are in rent houses, their water bill is not in their name, they just do their electric and and gas, and so what would be beneficial is if you could as a as a customer, a city customer pace the bulky waste for somebody else.

Like if I was a landlord and I had a person in one of my rent houses and they didn't have a water bill, I could pay the $20 and be billed on my account.

If you're a landlord you can already pay for them to have a bulky waste if you're the landlord but but I think a lot of people would help a neighbor out that couldn't afford to get just so they didn't have to look at the sofa sitting out on the side of the road for the next three months.

But there is not a mechanism right now in which the city can you allow you to pay for someone else to have a bulky waste pickup.

So that's the part that I think that we should work on.

Because although to some people that $10 increase isn't anything to a lot of people it really is.

And everybody suffers if trash sits at the corner and not only does it sit there or it gets drugged through the neighborhood through homeless people or gets picked up and then illegally dumped down the way when they decide that it's got bugs or whatever else um and and although I appreciate the fact that they have come up with a way that code enforcement can help that that is only when something goes to either penalty or if their financial situation is so low that most average people wouldn't qualify for assistance in that manner.

So just trying to think outside of the box that if we are going to raise it for $20 which makes sense I mean we'll still be subs subsidizing it to some degree even at $20 but also it will give lots of people that don't have the opportunity to use bulky waste to be able to use bulky waste if we can figure out a mechanism where someone else can pay for it.

Working in the nonprofit world now I've realized just how many people are willing to help their neighbor if there's a way that they can easily do it.

And the city doesn't make it easy for you to pay your own bill regardless of paying somebody else's bill so that's part of the the program that we need to work on and if it if we took that financial assistant component and kind of shared it code enforcement and neighborhood liaisons are are technically in the same department so perhaps they could share the responsibility so that it would actually give neighborhood liaisons a contact point for neighborhoods that don't have neighborhood associations and say well we'll help you this time but if you and your neighbor could get together and form a neighborhood association then you could actually get dumpster twice a year you know it maybe would help foster getting those neighborhoods some kind of organization on the front end rather than always addressing it on the code enforcement side of things so that maybe it doesn't get to that point for people I still worry and I would I wonder do we have any kind of I know when we when I first got on this board we talked a lot about um the data between illegal dumping and bulky waste pickup but have we done any kind of analysis as of late um does having cheaper bulky waste pickup cut down on illegal dumping now or is that not playing in because that was part of the reason why we started subsidizing it so we didn't get so much neighborhood trash and illegal dumping I think a long time ago when we did I mean this a decade more now I think it was more I hope that low would help but I mean if you look at our legal dumping the numbers I think are always about the same I mean other than they'll come down a little bit but hence too when we get notified of a of a site sometimes it can pick up the numbers but I don't I mean just look at this like I said we have good weather you know last year we're at 12.5 tons 12.05 tons and this year we're 19.92 so even at the cheap rate that's still an elevated it is it is elevated and and my my point is this that I fear that it will get worse if bulky waste becomes more expensive um when in times of situations when bulky waste has been um converted to other programs like when they're doing street um cleanup after a storm or whatever and they get diverted illegal dumping always goes up always goes up or at least it does in my neighborhood um and so that is still my fear that illegal dumping will go up and we pay way more in illegal dumping cleanup than we do in bulky waste pick up we could always we raise the rate reevaluate in a year and see if there is a difference.

Um and so that is still my fear that illegal dumping will go up, and we pay way more in illegal dumping cleanup than we do in bulky waste pick up.

We could always re raise the rate reevaluate in a year and see if there is a difference.

That's what I was saying, which is what we talked about last week.

Yeah, I mean we won't know until we try, or at least do a moving.

And that's fine.

I just that was the whole part of the the thing.

I do think, like I said, we should look look at a way where it can be subsidized by neighbors.

We have to figure out a way that that people can help because they will.

Krista, are you leaning towards not raising it?

Or are you um I'm okay with raising it if we have alternatives for people who can't afford the race and not just to cook, which is what we talked about last week with everything we talked about on our on our call the other day for our long range that we discussed um using uh what was the department that would help DCE vetting well it's neighborhood and planning is what they're called now, so it would help in working because they are already identifying they already identify where the needs exist and that then they pre-qualify, even like when we do some of the dumpster cleanups in neighborhoods that don't have H2A.

I mean, we'll work through them, free dump passes.

Can we set dumpsters and like we then what we talked about was we allowed them have up to 15 bulky waste pickups uh a month that are the pre-qualified that they feel I after our call, I was thinking more about that, and I'm usually someone that likes to have things pay for themselves.

Um, but I was thinking more about this, and I'm I'm kind of moved over more towards Pat now where it doesn't make a huge financial difference, the 10 to 20 dollars, and I think it's a really cool thing for our city that you know we'll in theory gets more trash off the street.

I've told neighbors before, hey, that mattress, you know, you can just call and it's ten bucks and I'll pick it up.

So I mean I would be fine with leaving it at ten dollars if if there's strong opinions otherwise.

I think we should raise it because I think just offsetting a little bit of our cost is is a good thing and and fiscally responsible for the city and our patrons and the in the in the city, and that any time we can just uh I mean we haven't raised it in years, and just that ten dollars will can help offset, I mean a couple hundred thousand dollars.

But it doesn't if it just comes back into illegal dumping.

Well that's what I would support raising it too, um, just because if we do a little bit every ten years, because this is not a sustainable program all by itself, it's not paying for itself, it is lovely.

Um but as long as we track the data, that's what I was gonna say.

If we can just track to try it, see what happens.

Let's look at the data, because right now we don't have much data to s support that the ten dollars is working.

It sounds like it's just pretty much remained the same for years and years and years.

If you look at it, we look at legal dumping, it's just it's it's like a a very tight sine wave.

It's in that range, plus or minus a few times, but it's it's just it hasn't moved and there's no correlation between things.

There is though, because you just can't track it because every time illegal dump uh bulky waste gets deferred to some other program, illegal dumping goes up.

You wouldn't you wouldn't know it unless you right now you right now you I would say you've got your baseline because this bulky waste has always been the price it is since it came out.

I don't think you'll ever really have a data comparison unless you do raise the rates, and then if you saw a sharp increase, then to your to the counselor's point, then you would know that that ten dollar increase had a impact, they get that rate.

You also have to get an English to actually call in about illegal dumping like but but I would support it with the extra tools that you're providing to not code enforcement but to the neighborhood planning department so they can work together as a team, the different divisions that come across these feeds to figure out how that works.

Yeah, and to the council point, we could also have billing come in to the in front of the tier board and ask is there a way of studying it.

I know in the past it's just I think it's been no.

Well, we we do have the director of 311 here.

I think maybe she might have ideas, maybe.

If not, why we'll I'll leave you alone.

If you want to think on it.

I think it's more of a billing policy than the 311, right?

It's a billing policy, but it could be a quickness and we have people who make a pledge to pay someone's water bill.

Um, and so we're facilitate that.

So it is something that is doable.

Um there is a way.

Okay.

So we need something that can be located.

So they do do that with water bills currently.

So we'll, you know, it it happens all the time.

Well, water bills.

So I I can't see why that couldn't be.

So I I can't see why that couldn't be achieved.

Especially if we communicated that.

Absolutely.

And like I said, when I say it happens, that's something we could do in the interof one track it and then to work with just to set up that program too.

But I think for for now raising the rate and doing the year to see in one year from now what the difference is.

I also see that the difference in the amount of raising it from ten to twenty dollars can also, you know, for one of our road crews.

That I mean that that amount of money can pay for a road crew that we're having to pay for out of our pay for five.

You're paying for five crews right now.

Because you picked up starting last October, you're paying for all five crews now because the ones that came off that um off the COVID or the relief funding.

Those uh our road crews are great, but they're doing public areas, and what the bulky waste ends up getting left at the curb in the neighborhoods, so that's the problem.

It's not gonna be uh they're not gonna be roaming the neighborhoods, I don't think to stuff that people are just setting on the curb.

Well, yeah, I mean I I see that wow, okay.

I think what Chuck is saying is that 250 will pay for one of those crews.

If not that we're off setting it.

So I mean Yeah, I get it.

We're all setting up.

And I mean, I get we're not using the case.

It's not just neighborhood that will get dumped on.

Right.

It's a different but I mean we could I mean not it would be to cut a CEO crew in order to do that.

So would you whatever CEO crew would you mean that's something we need to talk about then?

I see my problem is in these very specific neighborhoods is where the stuff people just will take it to the road and leave it.

And so having a barrier, and they these are the people that can't afford the 20 dollars.

So having a barrier to that is what I'm worried about that we're gonna just have more stuff.

So if we could figure out a way of addressing that going, you know.

Well, are they paying the $10 right now or are they just leaving it out by the curve and not calling?

So both.

We don't know because we don't have the data.

We don't have the data, I think.

But that's a track.

Like so I've talked to people with stuff at the road.

Hey, do you do you have a the ones that are not using $10, we're not gonna have that data anyways, other than code enforcement will get a call about that, but that's not really linked to our so I don't know if you deal with it.

But with code enforcement, they also you know the if you're volunteering willing to clean it up, they'll reach out to us, hey, can we get dumpster set?

So we'll set up there's mechanisms in place for them to to get rid of it for free already.

No, no, there isn't.

She's not there there is mechanisms for it in place, but it's a very narrow and it's very subjective as to who qualifies for that program.

Well, on that side of it.

Monica or director of the one also from this standpoint and hearing what you all are saying, I think one of the important things to know that most of the people who are dumping are bad actors.

There are some who for reasons are not able to report it, but most of the people who are doing that are gonna be doing it regardless.

Um it's the same thing if you have people who will go into an apartment complex and dump an apartment complex.

So you know, there is you know, it's reasonable to be able to see what we can do with raising, but then also there is a mechanism, like I said, that people call all the time.

Somebody want to pay for that that can be arranged, but I think it is some of the people who are doing that are are bad actors.

I think it would also be wise to look at in in certain areas where we know this is gonna have an impact.

Um to Miss Patrick's um comment.

It's worth it to be able to look at that and see how we can help code enforcement at any time and let people know about being able to call and different things like that.

But there's a way to achieve what we want to do, but I think also we are in danger of of keeping things a certain way where we're gonna have bad actors, period.

This were free, we have some people who are just gonna do it.

Um some of the dumping that's happening is also for people who are outside of the city.

So I think it's just that very will do it and try to approach it and take care of everybody.

But some of the biggest dumpers we've actually caught weren't from the city, they were one of the biggest ones was for Sand Springs that brought their stuff in and dumped it on the west side of Tulsa.

So for the community of Sands Marines to Tulsa, I feel like I mean it might be a two-bit.

I'm guessing in in my knack of life, a lot of it is that somebody will put it at the curb and then some somebody will come and and try and carry it off and it will make it four blocks down the street and get dumped into my yard because somebody put it at their curb and then they got tired of carrying it or realize it was broken or whatever it is.

I get lots of things that are dumped off in my yard that I saw a half a mile down the road.

They're not habitual illegal dumpers, but it is illegal dumping that now I have to take care of because it's in my yard.

And that happens a tremendous amount in the neighborhoods around where I live.

So what if we what if we did this then?

If we did, I mean the board still chooses to do the $20 as we also ask maybe when to come in with the board and have the discussions to your point of loosening the we'll say the purse strings for no better word to try to make it a little more uh accessible to get those approvals for those types of things.

I mean, because I don't think it's ever been tears intent to limit that I've ever heard from the board, so maybe it's just a matter we need to clarify that you know we want to, especially if we're in targeted neighborhood, maybe we look at some of those you know, high risk areas where we see it a lot and just say these are more uh just be more lenient on approving these or something that might be a way of looking at it, maybe I agree.

Are we uh we've been subsidizing this for a long time, and we're also we've been raising our rates a lot, a lot, and personally that I understand why we have to do it, but it I don't like doing it.

I don't like a monopoly taking money from the citizens who have no other choice.

Um so I don't I want to keep every single fee we have, and we're subsidizing it without any financial penalty to the to the organization, and and I want to maintain it at 10 because I don't think we've got to take any money that we don't absolutely have to have.

And to all this the point about all the code enforcement, that is just a lot of effort for a very small number of people who are going to be affected.

Um you know, you I think it's fine to do that, but I don't I don't I don't even think you have to marry it to the uh to the fee.

I think it's kind of why are we talking about it?

We ought to just be doing that, and then and then the final thing in this projection.

I mean, right this year, we just got a report from the Financial Department that we're $750,000 over collections, and if things go on, we're gonna be a million north of a million dollars over collections this fiscal year, probably close to a million and a half.

Well, if you look at the five-year projection, the difference in fund balance in the last year projected with the fee and without the fee, it's like a million bucks, a little more maybe.

And so, and yeah, and we aren't even we can't even project one year within a million dollars on revenues.

So all of this is to say I don't support taking any money from the people who we serve uh without a real compelling reason, and there's not one here.

There's not a compelling reason to do it.

We're already raising rates to cover the subsidy, let's just get down the road and keep it the way it is.

I heck I'm I'm tempted to take it to zero.

But uh you know, so that's my say.

I'm gonna vote against it uh on the increase.

So I've seen over the years the role of municipal government change, right?

So we've been called to the table to help with so many different things with um the safe move, cleaning up those areas, the CEO crews, and I I see that continuing to grow.

I don't see this and we're doing that.

Correct.

So you said we we we've had rate increases, right?

So this fee, right?

This fee here, you only are charged that fee if you call for that service, right?

So that's not the just the normal across the board rate that everybody pays for their their trash pickup based on the size of your cart and whatnot.

I know there's things that go into it and the type of service that you have, right?

So that that's what we've been raising.

This here, um, I it's together, but to me it is a little separate.

Um so if you don't want to pay it, you don't use it.

If you're financially strapped, there are ways that we can help you, and that's what we're trying to figure out, right?

We do it anyway.

We do it with emergency grants, we do it with uh what's some we we've got different programs within the city, but but if if if we can raise this to help make up for what we are losing, then on down the road, I I can see where we won't have to raise the overall rate for everybody.

This am I saying that right?

You see what I'm saying?

From my standpoint, I still think if we do one year and then collect the data, and then that at next year, if we want to bring it back down to ten dollars, let's do it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I just don't think we ought to take any money from the citizens.

We don't our service, the people with the fighting service too.

And 25,000 people, our households use this a year based on the $10 fee and erased to $10 or $25.

Where are those calls coming from?

Do we know?

I mean, we do know, don't we?

They come in usually through customer service and then customer service and schedule those outside.

Everybody.

Yeah, we can I can bring uh Andy in and we can have him.

I'm just curious to see.

How do you know it's almost you know it's it's not even material?

Yeah, but the total dollar amount's not material.

I mean, can compare that budget?

Yeah, it's just a question of uh the theory experience, yeah.

It's just kind of so my theory is let them keep their money as long as you can.

But it won't help in the future to stop the terror board considering raising overall rates if we have this money coming in.

No, it's 250,000.

It's but it could pay for a CEO crew, right?

We could pay for CEO crew right now.

We could put that in the budget if we wanted to next year with how to do that.

So you're saying this is just a move point.

To me, then why are we considering it?

I don't know.

I mean, can someone remember the trend that it was the help?

It was to help offset some of the costs that we have.

Okay, so help offset some costs.

Some of the costs that we have currently for the bulky waste crews, and uh and equipment upgrades and heavily subsidized.

So the very heavily should it be as heavily subsidized, or should more of the weight go on the citizens?

Well, 20% of the people are using it every year, so you know, over a five-year period, that's everybody uses it once theoretically.

Yeah, I'm sure there's some people who don't.

But I don't know.

I I know how I'm gonna vote.

You guys can everybody else.

I I don't want to take the money from the poor people.

But that is not what's happening, so don't say it like that.

Well, yes, we no, no, no, absolutely not.

Every time four person pays you tell you bill, you're taking their money.

And we there's no way the city's been able to figure out a way to subsidize.

Lowering the rates across the board.

Why aren't we doing that then?

Well, I support that.

But you know, I'm not gonna it's not like we aren't the problem.

We're just a little bitty you point over.

Yeah.

No.

That's a whole other board.

That's that's a whole other conversation there.

Um I think my concern is uh mainly around people that can't afford it's access and it building up in neighborhoods where people aren't gonna call.

So would it be feasible to have a truck go through problem neighborhoods and take graph tuck nope?

That's where we start with.

We went through that.

We basically have to add it through at least through everyone.

You would want to drive through neighborhood.

Because the bulky waste right now is booked.

I mean, we're they're rolling the entire every day that they're we're doing about a yeah, about a hundred pictures.

Putting a week behind, yeah.

But they have but we have two.

About two weeks behind a hundred pickups a day.

That's that's pretty manageable.

So it's manageable until one of our trucks go down, and then it's not manageable.

And then we want to reason why they think that some of this maybe we can roll these all down.

Okay, right.

I hear our revenue is gonna be a million to two million more than project.

But that's why I'm asking if this is so, then why are we even having this conversation?

We should just be voting on lowering rates and keep doing what we're doing.

We can't lower rates because we just signed a new contract, but that's gonna raise our costs significantly to collect we had been frozen for 15 years, basically.

And those days are over.

City of Tulsa was really blessed to have really way below market rate rates for a long period of time and with our new contracts, and that you know, you'll see in a lot of these line items, you know, this difference in costs, you know, just for disposal, recycling of every contract we have went up significantly.

The three big ones have all gone up.

And we can't control that really.

Well, that's fine.

So the biggest thing I think you need to look at when you're looking at these rate models is if you look at line 55.

You you're you're you're eating into fund balance every year, which is fine.

We've got fund balance, but at some point, if you eat into it so much that at some point then, let's say year six or whatever, then all of a sudden you're having a massive rate increase, you know, for everybody because all of a sudden you don't have I mean to your point you have to pay the bills.

It's just keeping that the bulky rate, but it's it's a piece of the puzzle path.

I mean, each each piece fits into the puzzle somehow, and I think you know, and and that's fine.

I mean, uh the thing is, you know, if the board wants to do uh staff, we'd we're we don't really have a dog in this hunt other than we just trying to make sure that we stay in good fiscal responsibility, uh which I think you know the board has always done a very good job at that.

Um but it's just you know, knowing that costs are increasing, and and there's other options.

I mean, at some point maybe you cut one of the five Coke.

I mean, there's there's you know, like to make this model work and keep the rates because originally the rate was five percent for this year, we brought it down to four, trying to keep the rates down, but through that we did it by cutting emergency response numbers, we changed how the green waste ran, uh we cut you know cart replacement numbers uh by half a million.

So to to this fund deficit would have looked a lot worse if we hadn't cut about two million dollars out of the annual budget.

So, you know, that upcoming 2.6 would have been more you know in the range of almost four million dollars of deficit spending if we hadn't went and made a bunch of but all those things you cut didn't affect it's not gonna affect our service.

No, it's coding to reality too.

Well, the only thing it's gonna affect is the the board has always been very receptive of of getting a fund balance back over projected, and a lot of it had to do with 700,000 is one thing, but Katie the we've run around three couple three million dollars over projected a fund balance.

A lot of it has to do with unexpended funds from our budget.

You know, we haven't used the cart, we've been blessed not to have to use the cart money.

We haven't had to use we only use 40,000 out of the Father's Day storm.

Uh so that you know that 460 came back.

So there's just those little pieces.

Again, to your point, is this a huge amount of money?

No, it's not.

So I mean, if you choose not to, it's not gonna we're not gonna be filing bankruptcy tomorrow or anything like that.

So but it's just a matter of just trying to look ahead.

Um because you know all those years of zeros were good until you bid the new contracts, and you know, and talk to just a couple people before that, you know, looking ahead and knowing that we were on sort of borrowed time contracts, we probably should have done a little 100%.

It just depends.

I mean there's different financial things, but uh when do we need to make a decision on this?

It'd be nice today.

Um I think finance, I don't know if they get nervous if we wait till April.

I think they'd like the the mayor makes their present his presentation April 21st.

Uh yeah, 21st.

So normally it'd be nice if we could do it, but uh next month would be the absolute latest.

I think we'd have to have a lot of people.

And he's aware of this discussion about the rates, right?

Who the mayor is so he knows where to say we're gonna recommend four percent no matter what.

Yeah, four percent's what you're doing, so that's not it's just a matter we need to know if we say no to this, it's not gonna affect that.

No, all it's gonna do is it's gonna affect your fund balance.

That's all it does.

And that's projected, and it's the margin of error on that fund balance over five year period is about ten times two hundred.

Whatever working in neighborhoods is called this week uh group code enforcement code, well code enforcement.

Neighborhood and planning neighborhood and planning that's the board.

Well, it's called the division is code enforcement.

Okay, yeah.

The people that interact with the citizens.

If a citizen I just want to be clear on this, so if a citizens has stuff at their their curb, they cannot pay for the $20 fee.

Are we going to be giving direction then to that group that they should get a pass?

Like that we will pay for it, we'll subsidize it.

How's what are you guys proposing on that?

Well, the proposal last week was that that group would bet it out, and if they qualify if they meet that need, then they would basically they would get that service for free.

And and what is that qualification?

Do we know?

It's what there's a there's a level of uh income.

I don't know what that is.

They've got a formula.

So Duranda in my opinion, the way code enforcement works is they're on a property because somebody has called and complained because there's trash junk and debris, a car sitting there, whatever it is.

It's not because somebody has neatly piled up uh bulky waste sitting at the curve and nobody will come and get it because they can't afford it, right?

Right.

So when code enforcement gets involved, they come across a customer, they're like, oh wow, this person can really use some help.

Maybe we can get them one of the vouchers, the city they don't have means to haul it off, they they can't afford to take it to the dump, they can't afford the the code enforcement.

That's how I'm thinking you guys were thinking how code enforcement were interact.

But that is why I recommended that yes, we need co-enforcement, but you need the neighborhood liaisons and the NCI planners.

Right.

Yeah, there's two of them, but but since uh uh the planning um and neighborhood department um have been working on that NCI.

They're they they have reviewed every neighborhood in the city of Tulsa.

They know the condition of every neighborhood.

So that's why I was like, I think it would be a good idea for them to all come together as one department, the divisions collaboratively to figure out where um these vouchers or tools or whatever we're gonna vote on to give if we raise it as a team, right?

Instead of depending on a code enforcement officer to make that cost.

It was a pilot project, and um there's what eighty yeah, eighty three, someone's deeper than something like that.

I didn't bring it with conditions.

It's not necessarily code enforcement.

So how do we it's a lot of things?

How do we make sure that the person that can't afford the 20 dollars is excused and we still put the trash up?

That's what I I'm not understanding.

It's it's a pretty subjective process, which is my biggest problem with this.

It is it it a resident would have to likely what happens if you're a diligent resident that's not going through the code enforcement process.

If I call, because I know the city sometimes gifts vouchers to people who have trash, I call code enforcement because that's who you end up having to call.

And I say, I have a lot of trash, or I've had a fire, or I've had whatever I need a dumpster, but I can't afford one.

Can I apply for one?

Then if you don't qualify for a very low income because it's very low, um, there is a a couple questions they will ask, but it is completely dependent upon who you talk to.

Um they have no way of calling our 311.

Well, 311 will pass them on to that department that makes those decisions.

You're not paying now, that ten dollars, twenty dollars, whatever would be billed later on.

So there is conceivably a way if we look at some factors that this might have needed the credit or whatever, so it's not like you don't get that pickup until you do it.

You're informed, this will come.

So for a lot of people that allows for some budgeting, or if someone is saying, Hey, I just can't even look at some things with that.

So they're not held costs that you don't pay pay to play, it it just wouldn't build.

So I think I'm glad I'm hearing this because there's a lot of things I think when we're all talking together, we can we can kind of get it figured out.

But I think even for right now, you have situations where people maybe can't afford the ten dollars, they're still having that problem.

The $20 thing isn't gonna necessarily make it, but again, they can get it taken care of, it's just gonna be billed.

Um, and so then there's some room to kind of be able to think about and also some more time.

Um again, somebody can pay it for it.

Right now, if someone calls in and says I need a bulky ways, but I can't afford it.

Is there any are we connecting them to anyone?

So again, I I don't know that we've had a situation, it's informing.

I don't know that we ever have a thing with somebody saying I'm not gonna be able to pay that ten dollars to say that we bill on a future bill and different things like that.

So I don't know that that is an issue in that in that way.

The main thing is a lot of people either not call and they're dumping, but I don't see the 10 or even 20 dollars.

It doesn't happen right there.

They have time.

City councillors are told to tell them to call code enforcement directly.

So I was always told to have them call code enforcement directly.

So but again, if they call, email us, they go online and request it or whatever, it's just a thing.

They're acknowledging, I know it costs this, there's room to be able to get three out.

But it doesn't, it's not a barrier, nobody stops.

Um most of the time it's just that we don't get the call or they don't go online to schedule it.

Usually they'll call their city counselor and say I can't afford it, and we're told to have them call code enforcement directly.

Do does the council provide that data to the refuse department?

That would be very helpful.

I mean, I think that's missing data.

Probably not because it's every individual council district operates autonomously.

So I had a lot of people call me, but I'm sure that would be very difficult.

I'm sure other districts don't have anybody that calls them because they don't give their constituents their phone numbers.

Monica, so you know it's that with the ten dollars, they don't necessarily say they can't afford it, it's later on when they get their overall utility bill.

Is that usually when they're saying I I'm just saying we don't have that situation, and I think that the problem is if if we don't know that if counselors are sending it, no, they we don't have people that are saying that there's no opportunity for this to be weighed or even to really see it as a problem.

I've just never heard of anybody saying I I can't this challenge it's not coming through three.

Not like that.

So now there is a thing of again that you know we could look at with someone if they really didn't didn't have it with being able to pay give you time to pay it out over time, or we can do a thing, you know, a credit.

It could, I mean, just kind of different things like that.

But I just say I don't know that it's uh the series of that.

I think part of it like you guys say you have to be able to see the data, but even I'm saying now, even at ten dollars, there are people who still not doing it, and maybe the answer is not just to shoot everything in code enforcement, maybe it is a thing to get it scheduled and to really see what the issue is at this.

I still wonder a lot of our illegal dumping to circle back around there for a second.

I think some of it is our people that go and pick up stuff maybe for a fee.

They make a hundred percent profit by then finding a place to dump it.

And I think that's what unfortunately is because we see a lot of shingles dumped.

I think because we see a lot of shingles dumped.

We got a lot of tires that we have.

Yeah, so like that.

So it's just I think you're right on the other.

But that furniture and the mattresses, I get a lot of walk through dumping because they've picked them up somewhere and and they thought they would take them home and then they realize they either have bugs or they are broken, or they've decided it's too heavy.

I don't know what to do.

Some of that also happens because it's sometimes it's landlords who are also they've done a clean out somebody who and they're sitting up here.

So they're just there are a lot of things that are happening.

Um not all language, but some of the times it's landwards that are kind of behaving in that.

Two years ago we got an apartment person that told his maintenance people to go dump them in the city right away and then called it in as illegal dumping when we caught that person.

Um but then if you're a landlord that pays all of the water bills so that your tenants can't call bulky waste and they don't necessarily think about calling their landlord and asking.

I mean, I've never had a tenant call me and say, can you call in a bulky waste for me?

They just pile and leave it in their yard, and then I end up having to clean it up when they move.

But I feel like we're stating problems that we're not even sure that are actually existing.

I I think the majority of Tolsons and the majority of our citizens are gonna be able to pay this, and I think that will uh help offset some of these costs.

And again, uh I'm looking at the fiscal side of it and the responsibility.

So you know, we don't raise we're slowly having to raise everything as as gradually because we haven't in so many years, and I think this is just one adjustment that we could have, and again, given one year, let's see the data, let's see what's gonna happen, and then revisit it in a year.

Well, and like De Rinda said, a lot of people don't even know about bulky waste.

You know, maybe we need to maybe we need to wait that the advertising people need to communicate that that's available and but then we wouldn't have any data.

We would have financial payments, which is I think what everybody's worried about, making sure we cover our cost.

I would like to know what our illegal dump rate is and how we know that.

Where is it coming in?

Is it coming in from 311?

Is it coming directly to refuse?

I would like I would like to start seeing the we need a baseline, right?

We don't even do we have a baseline of what are illegal dumps.

How much do you guys pick up?

These reports that you see each book.

There's a spreadsheet behind there that this is just a power BI presentation spreadsheet.

Okay, the year review kind of thing from last year.

I've been on here for very long, so I apologize.

We used to do the spreadsheet, and then if there was an ask to make it more visually presentation, it used to be spreadsheets of data that we gave out, and then so we went to the Power BI look, which is more graphical.

So you're over here, what it I mean, so your your illegal dump number has is it the same?

What is it?

It's a very tight sine wave.

It goes up and down, maybe five tons.

It's not a and some of it, you know.

We have a baseline.

Yeah, no, we've got a baseline.

Okay, so I say I'm with we try it, see if that changes that baseline.

If it changes, we put it back.

So this is what I want to say to her, comment check on those people can afford it.

35% of people that live in North Tulsa live under the poverty line.

35%.

Oh, I I understand that.

Uh and I'm what I'm getting at is that for the people who do call in for this, that you know, I'm just saying that it again it's a choice, but our rates have been so low for so many years, and I understand this is why we're discussing other options for that 35% in North Tulsa to have other options other than having to pay that $20.

So, but what I'm saying is for the most people in midtown, east, west, and south Tulsa.

Well, not West.

Not east, not west.

You're talking about a very small particles.

But so that I I see what you're saying, but I think there's a bigger, and those are the neighborhoods that have the stuff piling up.

So they're also the neighborhoods that get the most illegal dumping.

And they're also a lot of renters, right?

So then we go back to the problem of their name's not even on the water bill necessarily, so they can't call in for bulky waste anyway.

I'll make a motion we maintain the ten dollars for fiscal year twenty-seven.

I second it.

All right, say I roll call this one.

Well we'll call this one.

It clearly failed.

It's okay.

No, that's at a role.

Sorry, who voted aye?

I would like to motion.

Hold on.

All opposed to that motion.

Uh yeah, I'm not sure yet.

Got this abstain there to stay.

Okay.

Yeah, I'll have it.

No, it was two three.

Yeah, so it failed.

So if you would like to make another motion, uh motion we can take anything.

To raise it to 20.

I make the motion that we move raise it to 20 for the year.

I'll second it.

I'll go first the aye.

Raise hands again, sorry.

That's okay.

Well, wait, that's that's three.

Well that pass it.

All opposed.

Unless you go no.

Any abstaining for Industries?

Okay.

So it has.

So we'll raise it to county for the year and seeing data.

But I wouldn't like to bring in game.

I want to make a motion that we uh reduce the proposed rate increase from four percent to three point two five percent.

We should have a separate agenda item if we're gonna do rate increase.

I'll bring that up next time.

It'll offset.

So and I'll figure out the exact math.

I just did that in my head.

So while we're still on budget and while we're waiting, Pat's work that in his head.

Um I probably won't.

There is a new because of the the loss of the penny.

Uh we were notified the city has a new policy, has to be to the nearest nickel.

So the sheet that we gave you last week had pennies on it.

So now this reflected sheet now is to the nickel.

I would say so.

This reflects the new city policy on how you handle uh rounding.

So this is the new uh nickel policy we'll call it.

Nickel rate.

I didn't think sorry, going back to the bulky waste because we've not talked about it in our uh we still can have that group come in so that we can communicate our desire that they um I'll get with do you want us on you want them to just come on the full board or do you want it on the focus?

Which one what's your preference?

Focus because usually we're doing this.

We'll have them come next month's focus or ask them either April or May, we'll see what works in probably yes, ma'am.

I I would like to add to that group.

I would love for Monica Hamilton and uh maybe another representative from utility um be part of the conversation to collaborate in because they bring in different ideas that I don't think about, right?

So maybe somebody from general billing or whatever.

That's that's what I yeah, yeah, yes.

No, we'll we'll have all we'll have someone from billing uh 311 and also um from code enforcement.

Okay, and maybe neighborhood relations.

We'll just tell James to that's slightly here.

Yeah, we'll bring James.

Okay, okay.

Um when is the uh rate on the book you raised that would start with October one with everything else?

All right, so and these are the new rates that will also if you look in your packet.

Um this is what for those of you who weren't here last week.

Um the uh the the actual increase is four percent on your base service, but everything else is gonna have a different because of the sharp increase.

You know, we used to have backyard extended backyard, now we just have backyard, so that has gone that will effect of 10-1 if you want backyard services 28 dollars.

Uh if you want an additional card, it's 1530.

Extra recycling cards five dollars, and um so and then that a lot of those old things.

Biggest thing for you that weren't here last week.

The old stickers used to be fifty cents apiece.

They're now gonna be two dollars because we used to get charged seven cents a bag, and now we're getting charged uh four uh dollar fifty per bag.

No.

So we basically um that's to two dollars.

So those extra bags, uh, some people that use them all the time will have to look and see whether or not they need to uh just go with the second card because if you do the math on an additional cart, if you're doing more than eight bags, uh any pretty frequently you're better off on a second card.

We'll still have the you can call bulky waste and yeah, you can do bulky waste and but we'll still have the uh clear bags, right?

Clear bags.

Yes, green waste.

You get 15 bags of clear waste, yeah.

This is the extra refuse.

This is the stickers, the old stickers basically will require them to put four stickers on a bag starting October one, and when the new stickers come out, there'll be a change in design, so we'll know they are the two dollar sticker versus we're not doing forever stickers, so the old stickers are no good.

No, those will be good for four work.

Twice a week collection.

It's gone.

It's gone.

Have we communicated?

I guess we wouldn't.

We're we're going to be doing that in the bill stuffer in um You said May or June, right?

June, right?

Yeah.

June, we're gonna have a uh here's the here's everything new about the billing start uh with refuse starting October 1, but it'll be in your June bill.

But then we'll also do a media push.

Nobody reads those stuffers.

Are you gonna put anything in with the twice a week people?

We're gonna we have been talking about sending them a separate letter to notify them.

Um so we'll come up with that.

There's about 2800 of them that we'll probably send them mailing to just so that they know.

We're also having to do an audit of uh extra recycling cards because right now they're free and with the new contract they don't have to pay for them.

So we're gonna also do special notifications customers as well.

If you have more than one, you you'll have a different bill.

So there's between now and October there'll be a lot of notifications going out.

Like I said, the the twice a week, there'll be a we'll come up with a separate letter and mail it out sometime this summer too.

I'll let them know.

We're hoping we can just get weight them out and they'll save on some postage, but anyways.

All right.

Is that clear as mine on everything?

Yes.

Is there any new business?

Item nine, public comments.

All right, item 10, date of next meeting.

And the conference term can the next item once we are at June.

Thank you.