OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Works Committee Meeting – May 20, 2026: Settlements, Easement Closings, and Financial Empowerment Center Budget Discussion

City Council — Wednesday, May 20, 2026
BodyTulsa, Oklahoma
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, May 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 45:53
Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

Are we ready?

0:13

I'm starting to live.

0:15

Okay, I'm calling this meeting to order.

0:18

Welcome to the 2 30, which is now 3 30.

0:22

Public works committee meeting.

0:24

Item number one, call to order.

0:26

Number two, resolution authorizing payment of $25,000 to Kathy Bennett on behalf of Luther Bennett and Greg Diddy Law.

0:35

From the sinking fund is payment of a judgment and fee.

0:39

And welcome.

0:41

Good afternoon.

0:42

Good afternoon.

0:43

Chad Becker from Treasury.

0:45

Here as always to give council assurance that there's sufficient cash in the sinking fund to pay this judgment ahead of our levy placement on the property and tax rolls.

0:56

The judgment has been approved by the court and the mayor.

0:59

And with council's approval, finance will uh file paperwork with county to levy the human over three years.

1:08

And Jack's gonna talk about this case.

1:12

Just very briefly.

1:13

So uh Mr.

1:14

Bennett was as you vehicle traveling southbound on Martin Luther King Boulevard, our police officer traveling northbound, observed two cars racing southbound, initiated overhead lights.

1:27

Uh starting to make a U-turn in front of uh the vehicle that Mr.

1:31

Bennett was the passenger in uh collided with the vehicle, Mr.

1:36

Bennett uh suffered injuries and and probably tort claim for those injuries and pain suffering.

1:43

Uh initial claim was an excess of seventy thousand dollars after some back and forth negotiation in this uh admitted liability case.

1:52

We're admitting liability in this situation.

1:54

Um negotiated a settlement of 25,000 dollars.

1:57

The mayor's approved that uh for your consideration.

2:01

Thank you, Jack.

2:02

Very helpful.

2:03

Any questions?

2:05

Okay, we can leave the door open.

2:07

Yes, it was just because I was too loud.

2:10

Okay, we're gonna continue on.

2:12

We're in a meeting.

2:13

Number three, resolution authorizing payment of $95,000 to J.

2:18

M.

2:18

Brown Plaintiff and Donald Smolen Plano, Oklahoma Healthcare Authority from the sinking fund.

2:25

This is you as well.

2:27

Me as well, and my part is the same.

2:29

So we have a covering here to talk about this case.

2:31

Okay, counselor.

2:33

So um in this case, uh Mr.

2:36

Brown was traveling on the riding his bicycle on the sidewalk near Springdale Park uh off East Pine Street, and this this occurred uh June 21st of 2024.

2:48

Um the month before the city had removed a piece of the sidewalk to repair a water leak, and uh they had broken up the concrete, and we never replaced it after repairing the leak.

3:02

And so he was riding his bicycle at 9 p.m.

3:05

Uh, did not see the piece of uh portion of sidewalk missing, front tire went into the crevice.

3:12

He flipped over the bicycle, ended up breaking bones in both his hands, uh chipped and dislocated his front teeth, and um, of course the city admitted liability and uh we negotiated a settlement with him and his attorney uh for 95,000.

3:32

The settlement was presented to the mayor.

3:33

Mayor's approved the settlement and that's where we are today.

3:37

So that's the cost of two front teeth replacement.

3:45

Where was this again?

3:46

Which street?

3:48

So it was off East Pine Street next to Springdale Park.

3:51

Okay.

3:52

Thank you.

3:53

Uh Councilor Bingle.

3:55

Contractor or city.

3:57

Uh, this was the city.

4:00

So I'm sorry, so we fixed the utility and didn't replace the sidewalk.

4:08

Yep.

4:09

Or we were in that process, and it just we just hadn't gotten there yet.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████69%
Pending Litigation███████10%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████9%
Fiscal Sustainability██3%
Racial Equity██3%
Procedural█2%
Public Engagement█2%
Public Safety█1%
Community Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Works Committee Meeting – May 20, 2026

The Public Works Committee met on May 20, 2026, to consider several routine items including two settlement payments, two easement closings, a license agreement for a sewer line, and a detailed discussion on the Office of Financial Empowerment and Financial Empowerment Center budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

Consent Calendar

  • Resolution authorizing payment of $25,000 to Kathy Bennett on behalf of Luther Bennett and Greg Diddy Law from the sinking fund for a judgment and fee. The settlement resolves a tort claim where a city police vehicle collided with a vehicle in which Mr. Bennett was a passenger. The city admitted liability.
  • Resolution authorizing payment of $95,000 to J.M. Brown and Donald Smolen from the sinking fund. The settlement resolves a claim after Mr. Brown was injured when his bicycle hit a missing section of sidewalk near Springdale Park, which the city had failed to repair and did not barricade.
  • Ordinance closing a utility easement at 1533 East 31st Street requested by Joseph McCormick to clear a clouded title. No objections from the city or private utilities.
  • Ordinance closing a portion of an alleyway at 1519 South Quincy Avenue for Marquette Catholic School. The school building was constructed over the alley in the 1920s; the closure clears the title.
  • License agreement between the city and Metroplex Investments to install and maintain a 2-inch pressurised sanitary sewer force main on city right-of-way at 5004 Street. The line will serve private development; the city assumes no additional liability.

All items were presented by city staff and recommended for approval. Council members had brief questions on the sidewalk injury case (Councilor Bingle questioned why barriers were not placed) and expressed no opposition. It is presumed these items were approved, as no vote against was recorded.

Discussion Items

  • Office of Financial Empowerment and Financial Empowerment Center – Proposed FY 2026-27 Budget Director Amber Gibbons, along with staff and Chief DeMontre Hayes of the Department of Resilience and Equity, presented an update on the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) program, which provides free one-on-one financial counseling to Tulsa residents in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Tulsa and Tulsa Responds.
    • Key metrics (as of May 2026): Non-mortgage debt reduction of $4.6 million since 2020, on pace to reach $5 million; savings increased to $1.8 million, on pace to hit $2.5–3 million in 2026; over 11,000 counseling sessions conducted; 4,500 active clients.
    • Municipal court integration: A counselor is on-site three days a week; participants can have fines waived (starting at $250 after three sessions, then $100 per session). The program has been recognized by the National Center for State Courts.
    • New service – Legacy planning: Launched October 2025, offering living wills, powers of attorney, and transfer-on-death deeds. Nearly 1,000 participants served.
    • Budget request: $150,000 from the general fund for a program manager and three counselors at Goodwill, plus a separate $38,000 municipal court contract for a fourth counselor. The city’s contribution leverages additional funding from Goodwill ($300,000) and Tulsa Community Foundation ($300,000), totaling $750,000 in annual program investment.
    • Council questions and discussion:
      • Councilor Lakin requested a breakdown of total city investment over the program’s history and a clearer explanation of average debt reduction/savings per participant ($2,000 each). Director Gibbons committed to providing detailed data.
      • Councilor Lakin also asked about new client numbers vs. repeat clients; staff noted many clients are from the municipal court program and continue after completing requirements.
      • Councilor (unidentified) inquired about comparison to private credit counseling services (e.g., Consumer Credit Counseling). Staff emphasized that the FEC is free, serves low-income residents (70% of clients) who cannot afford private services, and provides wraparound support including legacy planning.
      • Councilor Bellis noted the program’s scaling and asked whether current funding is sufficient to maintain growth. Director Gibbons stated the current request is sufficient to continue scaling, but additional funding would be beneficial.
      • Councilor Dr. Roy asked about service area; staff clarified that the focus is Tulsa residents but adjacent residents are not turned away.
      • Councilor (unidentified) highlighted the program’s impact on women (70% of clients are women under 45 with average income of $29,000) and inquired about use of NCI data and bilingual services. Staff confirmed bilingual counselors and use of program data tracking.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee received the presentation on the Financial Empowerment Center and discussed the budget request. No formal vote was taken; the matter will proceed to the full council for budget consideration.
  • Council members requested additional information on: total historical city investment, average cost per outcome, unduplicated client counts, and a comparison to private credit counseling services. Staff will provide follow-up data.
  • Items 2 through 6 (settlements, easements, license agreement) appeared to be approved without objection, pending formal ratification.
  • The meeting was adjourned after the discussion.

Note: No agenda or minutes were available; the above is based solely on the transcribed discussion.

Meeting Transcript

Are we ready? I'm starting to live. Okay, I'm calling this meeting to order. Welcome to the 2 30, which is now 3 30. Public works committee meeting. Item number one, call to order. Number two, resolution authorizing payment of $25,000 to Kathy Bennett on behalf of Luther Bennett and Greg Diddy Law. From the sinking fund is payment of a judgment and fee. And welcome. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Chad Becker from Treasury. Here as always to give council assurance that there's sufficient cash in the sinking fund to pay this judgment ahead of our levy placement on the property and tax rolls. The judgment has been approved by the court and the mayor. And with council's approval, finance will uh file paperwork with county to levy the human over three years. And Jack's gonna talk about this case. Just very briefly. So uh Mr. Bennett was as you vehicle traveling southbound on Martin Luther King Boulevard, our police officer traveling northbound, observed two cars racing southbound, initiated overhead lights. Uh starting to make a U-turn in front of uh the vehicle that Mr. Bennett was the passenger in uh collided with the vehicle, Mr. Bennett uh suffered injuries and and probably tort claim for those injuries and pain suffering. Uh initial claim was an excess of seventy thousand dollars after some back and forth negotiation in this uh admitted liability case. We're admitting liability in this situation. Um negotiated a settlement of 25,000 dollars. The mayor's approved that uh for your consideration. Thank you, Jack. Very helpful. Any questions? Okay, we can leave the door open. Yes, it was just because I was too loud. Okay, we're gonna continue on. We're in a meeting. Number three, resolution authorizing payment of $95,000 to J. M. Brown Plaintiff and Donald Smolen Plano, Oklahoma Healthcare Authority from the sinking fund. This is you as well. Me as well, and my part is the same. So we have a covering here to talk about this case. Okay, counselor. So um in this case, uh Mr. Brown was traveling on the riding his bicycle on the sidewalk near Springdale Park uh off East Pine Street, and this this occurred uh June 21st of 2024. Um the month before the city had removed a piece of the sidewalk to repair a water leak, and uh they had broken up the concrete, and we never replaced it after repairing the leak. And so he was riding his bicycle at 9 p.m. Uh, did not see the piece of uh portion of sidewalk missing, front tire went into the crevice. He flipped over the bicycle, ended up breaking bones in both his hands, uh chipped and dislocated his front teeth, and um, of course the city admitted liability and uh we negotiated a settlement with him and his attorney uh for 95,000. The settlement was presented to the mayor. Mayor's approved the settlement and that's where we are today. So that's the cost of two front teeth replacement. Where was this again?

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