Tulsa City Council Regular Meeting – October 14, 2026

The Tulsa City Council met on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in the Council Chamber at 175 E. 2nd St., Tulsa, Oklahoma. The agenda and transcript list the meeting at 5:00 PM; the meeting-date metadata supplied with the record is 2026-10-14 11:00:00+00:00. All nine councilors were present. The meeting opened with a proclamation for Mobile Integrated Healthcare Week and included approval of routine items, a Sales Tax Overview Committee report, first-reading ordinances, second-reading ordinances, a resolution, donation approvals, and public comments. The Council also considered and voted down a major ordinance creating an Office of Independent Review and Oversight of Public Safety.

Consent Calendar

• Approved, by unanimous vote, the minutes of the September 16, 2026 special meeting at 10:30 AM and the regular meetings at 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
• Reappointed Larissa McNeil to the Human Rights Commission for a term expiring July 1, 2027, and Michelle Lara to the HUD Community Development Committee for a term expiring June 30, 2027. Both reappointments were approved unanimously. James Alexander and Bernice Alexander spoke against Lara’s reappointment, saying HUD community development had not produced needed change for North Tulsa; John Huffines offered general support for both reappointments.
• Approved Mayor’s Items 4B–4K as a block, including a donation of Jave Yoshimoto’s “The Classics” laser-cut wood work to the Gilcrease Museum; a $2,500 International Co-Responder Alliance travel donation for Chief Justin Lemery to attend EuroCon in Limerick, Ireland, November 2–6, 2026; a $1,300 National Registry of EMTs travel donation for Chief Lemery to attend its annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, October 18–19, 2026; a $1,000 Welcoming America donation; and special event permits for Zeeco Oktoberfest Tulsa (October 21–25, 2100 S. Jackson Ave.), Tulsa Pride Parade and Tulsa Pride Festival 2026 (October 17), Skinnerfest Second Line Parade (October 18), Garth Brooks Street Party (October 22–24, 300 S. Denver Ave.), and Tulsa River Run (October 17, 1800 S. Riverside Dr.).

Public Comments & Testimony

• John Huffines expressed support for Mayor’s Items 4C, 4D, and 4J, including Chief Justin Lemery’s travel to Ireland and Ohio and the Garth Brooks Street Party.
• Jaina Davis spoke against the Tulsa Pride Parade and Tulsa Pride Festival 2026 applications, saying she did not see the purpose of holding parades or festivals for Pride.
• Agenda-listed evening public comments, after the televised portion of the meeting, were: Antoun Al-Khouri on road closures on Pine St. between Mingo Rd. and Memorial Dr.; Chance Stalzman on MetroLink Tulsa bus operator compensation and public costs when a driver leaves; Thomas Rice on City policing and due process concerns; and Karmen Glunt on a formal investigation request under Article II, Title 17 of the Tulsa City Charter. The supplied transcript does not include their remarks.

Sales Tax Overview Committee Report

• Committee chair Ashley Webb reported that 2016 and 2013 sales tax program revenues exceeded adopted budget estimates by about 8.7% for September, almost $1 million, and were more than $1 million above estimates year-to-date, about 5.3% above.
• Webb highlighted upcoming Ben Hill Park improvements, a Dreamkeeper Park open house on October 27, 2026, at 6:00 PM at Centennial Center, an October update on the South Tulsa/Jenks Lake dam project, and the East Side Center for Entrepreneurship groundbreaking.

Ordinances – First Reading

• Items 6A through 6G were not read aloud and were forwarded to the next Council meeting without objection. They included budget amendments for Next Generation 911 ($249,354.44), a storm sewer easement closure for Saint Francis Hospital South, a $6,044,000 TMUA sewer capital transfer for the Spunky Creek East Branch Interceptor, Facility Maintenance Real Estate appropriations ($125,822), Police Forensic Laboratory appropriations ($26,886), Municipal Courts and Lockup appropriations ($1,500,000), and a new Title 7 chapter on Human Remains and Cultural Artifacts.

Ordinances – Second Reading

• Item 7A, the CoxCom, LLC franchise ordinance, was pulled from the agenda.
• Item 7B, closing a public way at 1419 N. 67th E. Ave. for Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and School safety improvements, was approved unanimously. John Huffines spoke in support.

Ordinance 7C – Independent Review and Oversight of Public Safety

• The Council heard 10 public speakers: five in favor and five in opposition.
• Opponents included retired Tulsa Fire Department Deputy Chief Mark Seipe, who argued the ordinance barred former public safety officers from serving on the civilian board and called that discriminatory; Kari Soti, who raised concerns about cost, timing, structure, mayoral discretion, expanded scope, and public engagement; James Alexander, who said the board would lack subpoena power and would not work; Jack Seawright, who argued it would tie police hands; and Karen O’Brien, who questioned the appointment structure, volunteer expertise, and cost.
• Supporters included Brittany Anderson, who described alleged code enforcement abuses; Julie Skye, who cited Human Rights Watch statistics showing Tulsa police used physical force on Black people 2.7 times more frequently than on white people, pepper spray 3.6 times, Tasers 2.9 times, dog bites 2.1 times, and force per arrest 18% more frequently, and said only two of 3,364 non-deadly force actions from 2012 through 2017 were found out of policy; Jamie Rodriguez, who compared oversight to other regulatory systems; Bernice Alexander, who described police conduct toward young people; and Emily Del Grasso, who called self-oversight a conflict of interest.
• Council discussion included Councilor Dutton reading a supportive constituent letter and saying $47 million in lawsuit costs exceeded the estimated $500,000 cost of the office. Councilor Decter Wright asked to postpone the vote to build more collaboration and cited an Oklahoma City model with about 95% board agreement with officer decisions. Councilor Gilbert defended the ordinance as professional oversight and noted alternative paths such as charter amendments. Councilors Bush and Lakin raised concerns about existing oversight layers and technology gaps, with Lakin proposing a standing public safety committee instead. Councilor Hall Harper said the community had waited ten years and that the justice theme in Tulsa’s equality indicators continues to worsen.
• A motion by Councilor Decter Wright, seconded by Councilor Dutton, to approve 7C failed on a roll-call vote: yes—Decter Wright, Hall Harper, Dutton, Bellis; no—Gilbert, Bengal, Lakin, Bush; abstaining—Archie. The motion failed 4–4–1.

Council Items, Announcements, and Resolutions

• Councilors announced domestic violence awareness month panels on October 19, 20, and 29, 2026; a Dreamkeeper Park open house on October 27; and a police chief transparency talk on October 19.
• Item 8B, a resolution urging the Secretary of the Air Force to select the 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa as the home of the next Air National Guard F-35A squadron, was approved unanimously.
• Item 8C, an $799 registration donation from the Coretz Family Foundation for Councilor Hall-Harper to attend the Aspen Ideas: Economy Conference in Tulsa, was approved unanimously.
• Item 8D, a $1,983.33 transportation donation from Williams Companies for Councilor Gilbert’s August 15, 2026 flight to Kansas City for the Tulsa Regional Chamber InterCity site visit, was approved on a divided vote; Councilors Decter Wright and Dutton voted no.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes, reappointments, Mayor’s Items 4B–4K, street-closing ordinance 7B, resolution 8B, and donation items 8C and 8D were approved as noted.
• Ordinance 7C failed on second reading and was not adopted; council members indicated that alternative oversight or public safety committee proposals could be pursued.
• Item 10A, the appeal by Steve Hightower in Demolition Case No. 122495-2026, was rescheduled.
• No public hearings or new business items were on the agenda.