Tulsa City Council Regular Meeting – September 23, 2026

The Tulsa City Council met on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, for its regular meeting. The agenda and transcript list the meeting at 5:00 PM in the Council Chamber, 175 E. 2nd St., Tulsa, OK; the supplied metadata cites the meeting date as 2026-09-23 11:00:00+00:00. Chair Karen Gilbert presided. No items were reported under appointments/reappointments, public hearings, new business, or appeals.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes (1A–1B): The Council approved, on a unanimous roll-call vote, the minutes of the September 2, 2026 regular meetings held at 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
• Mayor’s Items (4B–4Q): The Council approved all mayor’s items on a unanimous roll-call vote. These included receipt/canvassing of certificates of votes from the August 25, 2026 election for Council Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9 and the ONG Franchise; a Public Property Use/Occupancy Agreement with Tulsa Global District for decorative vinyl wraps on traffic control cabinets at six locations; a license agreement with 1500 Cherry Street, LLC for two wall-mounted blade signs at 1503 E. 15th St. S.; multiple utility/storm/sanitary sewer easement donations; donations from QuikTrip, Quik Print on Main, B’nai Emunah Synagogue, Kansas State University, Columbus Fire Department, and Oklahoma Homeland Security; and the Black Wall Street Nation Festival special event application scheduled for September 25–27, 2026, starting at 700 N. Greenwood Ave.
• Final Plat 36N (5A): The Council approved the final plat for 36N — 21 lots, 10 blocks, ±32.18 acres at the northeast corner of E. 36th St. N. and S. Peoria Ave. — on a unanimous roll-call vote.
• First-Reading Ordinances (6A–6C): Without objection, the Council forwarded these ordinances to its next meeting: a $750,000 reallocation within the 2023 Temporary Sales Tax Fund for the River Parks Maintenance Building; a $9,055.71 supplemental appropriation from Oklahoma Forestry Services through the Inflation Reduction Act Urban and Community Forestry Program; and an ordinance closing a detention easement at 1123 N. Garnett Rd. requested by Interiors One Properties, LLC for future expansion.
• Second-Reading Ordinances (7A–7G): The Council approved, on a unanimous roll-call vote: the Florence Park Neighborhood Character Overlay 2 (NCO-2) rezoning (7A; TMAPC had recommended approval 7–0–1); the closing of a public way at 4022 E. 104th St. (7B); and FY 2026–2027 supplemental appropriations of $125,000 from Cherokee Health (7C), $25,000 from Telligen Community Initiative (7D), $413,630 from the U.S. Department of Justice JAG grant (7E), $293,750 from the Convention & Visitors Fund for managed entities/economic development (7F), and $20,000 from Cities for Financial Empowerment (7G).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Mayor’s items 4K, 4M, and 4O – John Huthines: Expressed support for the QuikTrip donation to the TPD Training Division for the “918 Day of Caring” project, the B’nai Emunah donation for the Welcoming Week Soccer Tournament, and the Columbus Fire Department travel donation for two fire chiefs to serve as assessors in Columbus, Ohio.
• Item 5A – James Alexander: Opposed the 36N plat, saying the project is much larger than earlier plans, resembles “a small city,” and is “a mess.” He stated North Tulsa is “getting screwed” and asserted that Black residents cannot afford the homes because they are not considered creditworthy.
• Items 7A, 7C, and 7D – John Huthines: Expressed support for the Florence Park NCO-2 overlay and for the Cherokee Health and Telligen grant appropriations.
• Item 7H – supporters (7 of 10 speakers):
  • Carmen Glunt described 61 fatal officer-involved shootings she could verify since 2007, saying only the killing of Terrence Crutcher produced a ruling that the shooting was not criminally justified; one in ten cases resulted in a lawsuit or settlement; and all involved officers retained CLEET certification. She argued Tulsa has no independent mechanism to learn from such cases.
  • Deborah Tyler, whose son was shot nine times by a Tulsa police officer, said the photo of the incident has been viewed over three million times. She said the city has spent $60 million “protecting monsters,” demanded the officer be fired and his CLEET certification revoked, and urged approval of oversight.
  • Christy Williams said Tulsa has discussed oversight for 10 years and noted the city has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on policing-related settlements; she cited an 18-point decline from the 2018 baseline and quoted Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify.” She supported oversight as building trust.
  • Luke Bullinger quoted Christopher Hedges, said “rest in power” to Terrence Crutcher, and argued oversight is needed so democracy survives.
  • Jane Sampier, executive director of Still She Rises and former public defender with 17 years in courtrooms, supported the proposal. She said New York’s civilian complaint review board shows how an independent evaluator helps people feel seen, and that trust must be earned.
  • John Wilson supported feedback/review mechanisms for public safety; he cited a personal traffic stop, said Tulsa is one of 1% of U.S. agencies requiring a bachelor’s degree, and referenced a recent lawsuit against Tulsa Fire over pay as a communication failure.
  • Nate Morris supported the proposal, noting that 48 of the 50 largest U.S. cities have had civilian oversight of law enforcement while Tulsa has not. He called further delay unacceptable unless it leads to a near-term result.
• Item 7H – opponents (3 of 10 speakers):
  • Sean McKenna, counsel for the Fraternal Order of Police, urged the Council not to adopt the ordinance at this time. He argued multi-layered oversight already exists (DA, OSBI, Attorney General, CLEAT, FBI, DOJ, courts, and CALEA accreditation for about 20 years); that the proposed office is not truly independent because it is mayor-appointed and city-funded; that the ordinance implicates mandatory subjects of bargaining under the Oklahoma Fire and Police Arbitration Act; that the mandatory 10-business-day wait before a final disposition is not advisory; and that the office would not reduce lawsuit exposure.
  • Heather Nash said she opposes the proposal because she believes the City Council should also be subject to independent oversight and review. She said she did not want oversight for police to be pursued while council oversight was “kicked down the road” for 10 years.
  • Jaina Davis opposed creating a new city department, calling it an expensive additional bureaucracy (about $500,000/year). She said answers should come from existing officials, that the mayor’s public safety commissioner should review the Jamerson file, that documents should be published online, and that “transparency is not Title 16.”
• Email read by Councilor Decter Wright from Ginger Ward: Ward, a retired Tulsa 911 dispatcher with nearly 30 years in Tulsa’s public safety system, supported independent oversight covering police, fire, and 911. She cited the February 2025 crash that killed two Holland Hall teenagers, saying Tulsa Fire was not dispatched until 24 minutes after the initial 911 call and that an internal email was released only after open records requests and Oklahoma Attorney General intervention. She also cited the William Henry Jamberson case: about 24 years in prison on a rape conviction, evidence later found in TPD possession, DNA testing excluding him, the conviction vacated, and a $26.25 million settlement. Ward said employees need to raise safety concerns without fear and that independent review is needed for accountability and prevention.
• Agenda discrepancy: The agenda listed Elizabeth Gray under Hearing of Public Comments to propose an annual Mayor’s Walk Against Domestic Violence in October, but the transcript does not include her remarks. After the Clerk announced item 11, the Council moved to the non-televised portion of the meeting.

Discussion Items

• Independent Review and Oversight of Public Safety (7H): After testimony, Councilor Decter Wright, co-sponsor with Councilor Hall Harper, read Ginger Ward’s email and summarized the proposal’s history. She said the ordinance is one of several paths — ordinance, charter amendment, citizen initiative, or mayor’s executive action — and moved to continue 7H to the Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Council meeting to allow more time for colleagues to review counterproposals. Councilor Archie said the Council is “not going to do nothing”; he challenged opponents and Chief Brooks/Commissioner Roberts to present alternatives by Oct 14 covering use of force, technology management, data sharing, and internal affairs. Councilor Dutton said $500,000/year for 26 years equals $13 million, but Tulsa spent $52 million in settlements in 2025 and 2026, and no monetary value can replace a life. Councilor Bellis urged the Council to act with urgency so everyone’s loved ones make it home. Councilor Hall Harper pointed to the September 16, 2026 presentation and backup materials. Councilor Lakin asked that affected public safety agencies be brought to a public committee conversation before the next vote. Councilor Dutton asked that citizen stakeholders also have a place at the table. Staff said they would work to schedule additional committee discussion on September 30, 2026.

Key Outcomes

• Unanimous approval of minutes 1A–1B, Mayor’s items 4B–4Q, final plat 5A, and second-reading ordinances 7A–7G.
• First-reading ordinances 6A–6C forwarded to the next regular meeting without objection.
• Item 7H continued to Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 5:00 PM by unanimous roll-call vote. The Council directed scheduling for further committee discussion, including with affected public safety agencies, and set expectations for alternatives/reforms to be presented before that date.
• No action was taken on the agenda item 11 public comment (Elizabeth Gray) because it was not reflected in the transcript; the meeting then proceeded to its non-televised portion.