City Council Passes Fiscal Year 2026 Tulsa Budget

This evening, the Tulsa City Council voted 8-1 to approve the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget with a total of $1.117 billion. Councilor Dutton was the dissenting vote. 

The general fund budget is $419.6 million, about 2.6% more than the FY25 original budget. The general fund is the principal operating fund of the City. 

“The Council and Mayor worked hard, and collaboratively, to develop a balanced budget to meet the needs and desires of our residents,” Council Chair Phil Lakin said. 

“With this budget, the City of Tulsa can continue to provide essential services like public safety and road maintenance, while also addressing issues that need more investment: homelessness, graffiti removal, animal welfare, and so much more. FreedomFest is preserved, mowing cycles are restored, and specialty court and mediation services will continue. Finally, our employees are a top priority, which we have demonstrated in this tight budget year through a proposed 1% salary stipend if revenues exceed expenses. Every aspect of this budget is provided to residents via the hard work and dedication of our city employees, for which we are very grateful.” 

As part of the budget process the City Council held its annual retreat with the Mayor and Auditor to identify priorities, 14 televised Committee meeting discussions and three public hearings to hear feedback from residents. 

"As City Councilors, it is our responsibility to ensure the budget we adopt puts us in the best possible position to support our shared priorities for the coming year,” Council Vice Chair Karen Gilbert said.  

“I want to thank the Mayor and his staff for making themselves available to answer our questions during this process, as well as their flexibility in supporting the final product. While there were some adjustments made, this was a team effort in which we can all take pride." 

The City Council worked with the Mayor and finance team to make the following changes to the budget proposed on April 30 to fund priorities identified in the Mayor/Council Retreat and to provide essential services. These changes were made by identifying available funding sources and not by increasing the total budget amount. 

Court Reform and Access: 

• Municipal Court Programs: No adds in FY26, $227K added in FY27  

  • To continue funding for Special Services Court and other Fines and Fees Initiatives for nine months in FY27  

  • These programs help residents comply with the law while providing needed wraparound services 

• Early Settlement Mediation Program: $48K in one-time funds for FY26, $24K added in FY27 

  • Provides residents the opportunity to resolve civil disputes in a more cost-effective manner through mediation instead of the court system  

  • Funding is planned to be decreased in FY27 while private or other funding sources are explored  

Improving Neighborhoods and Maintaining Assets: 

• Code Enforcement: $50K in one-time funds for FY26 

  • Overtime for code enforcement officials to help improve neighborhood conditions 

• Mowing Cycles: $186K for FY26 and FY27 

  • Restores all mowing cycles in Tulsa Parks 

  • $138K (Citywide – 13 to 16 cycles)  

  • $48K (Downtown – 16 to 32 cycles)  

• Graffiti Removal: $100K for FY26, $150K for FY27  

  • Funding for an additional crew to maintain community standards and values 

• RiverParks: $102K for FY26 and FY27 

  • For needed operations and maintenance on Turkey Mountain, especially after record wind storms, and continuation of the annual Independence Day celebration FreedomFest 

Public Safety: 

• Animal Welfare - Veterinary Services: $85K for FY26 and FY27 

  • Supports the health and safety of residents, staff and animals 

Improving Revenue Sources: 

• Grant Writer Contract: $75K for FY26, $150K for FY27

  • To contract for a grant writer to apply for external funding and maximize federal dollars and outside resources 

  • Effectiveness of contract will be evaluated after one year 

    
    

Restoring Services: 

• Urban Design Planner: $69K for FY26 and FY27 

  • No additional cost added to the budget  

  • Moves a position from the Mayor’s Office to the Planning Office and reassigns duties

  • Restores services such as renderings for project proposals, street project reviews and right-of-way programs 

Post-Budget | Employee Recruitment and Retention: 

• 1% Non-Sworn Stipends: $1,738,000 one-time funds in FY26 

  • Provision in the budget that will trigger stipends for non-sworn employees if FEMA reimbursements are received or if revenues exceed expenses in the general fund after 120 days into the new fiscal year 

Post-Budget | Housing and Homelessness: 

• Encampment Decommissioning Support: $231K one-time CRF funds in FY26 

  • Resolution to secure Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) and develop a line-item budget to provide encampment decommissioning support, which can range from permanently closing sites to rapid rehousing programs 

• Capital Adjustments – Housing Funds for FY26 

  • Improve Our Tulsa 3 housing fund appropriation is expected to be made later in the fiscal year to better align with the Mayor/Council collaborative process  

Funding Sources for Budget Amendments:  

• Several technical adjustments to the general fund were identified and offset by other technical adjustment savings 

• The Council and Mayor agreed upon a few budget neutral changes that allowed for reassignment of staff functions and moves within departments 

• Remaining changes were funded by reducing the Emergency Operation contribution for

  FY26 from 10% to 9.9% while still providing for an overall increase to the fund of 1.4%, up from 8.5%, and unassigned fund balance in the general fund 

• By separate actions and included in revenue projections, the Council approved: 

  • a tiered approach to Special Event fees allowing for cost recovery of police and

    fire services 

  • an annual increase in Right-of-Way fees to cover the cost of review services 

  • an alignment of city ordinance with state law to allow collections on unadjudicated Municipal Court cases while providing for notice protections for residents 

• In the next fiscal year, it is expected the Council will review proposals related to cost recovery in parking fees and fire department insurance claims 

Next, the budget heads to the Mayor’s desk for signing. Fiscal Year 2025-2026 will begin July 1. 

"I want to thank City Council Chair Lakin and Vice-Chair Gilbert for their leadership during the budget process," Mayor Nichols said. "When we proposed a budget to the Tulsa City Council in April, we knew hard decisions had to be made as we balanced general fund commitments, the reliance on our fund balance, and took into account projected revenues.  

"Ultimately, this budget reflects the shared priorities of the Mayor's Office and the Tulsa City Council while providing a responsible investment in public safety, economic opportunity, and the critical infrastructure that keeps Tulsa running. I want to thank the City Council for their care with the budget, and I'm eager to see our budget come to life over the next fiscal year as we work towards our priorities as a city." 

Key items that the FY26 adopted budget funds, highlighted previously in the Mayor’s proposed budget, include:  

Housing & Homelessness 

• Funds dedicated staff to lead housing and homelessness initiatives 

• Funds transitional living facility, additional temporary transitional housing opportunities, and multiple other homelessness initiatives 

Public Safety 

• Funds two Tulsa Police academies (55 new cadets) and 24 new firefighters to ensure the Tulsa Fire Department remains fully staffed 

• Funds the mental health partnership at the 911 Center, in addition to our Community

  and Alternative Response Teams 

• Provides needed resources for Tulsa Animal Services and allows for the construction of the new shelter   

• Funds continued rehabilitation work at the Public Safety Center, which is expected to open in 2027 

 Economic Development 

• Funds nearly $60 million over the next four years for wastewater and other infrastructure improvements that are necessary to spur new economic developments in Tulsa 

• Funds additional staffing to increase permit responsiveness and implement new fast-track permitting processes 

• Funds upcoming efforts for the upcoming Route 66 Centennial 

Youth Outcomes 

• Funds the Office of Children, Youth and Families 

• Funds the Financial Empowerment Center   

• Ensures the City is able to keep our pools open, our seasonal day camps operating, and our school crossing guard positions funded 

Essential Services 

• Restores the City's emergency operating reserve to a level of 9.9% of the general fund 

• Funds street maintenance crews, highway lighting and traffic synchronization 

• Ensures upgrades across the entire Parks system continue at a time when Tulsa Parks is going through the largest improvements project in its history   

Utility Rates 

The City Council approved the Mayor’s proposed utility rate adjustments on June 11 to keep Tulsa in line with the cost of delivering service. The adjusted rates were previously approved by the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority and the Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy and are lower than what was projected in the fiscal year 2026 financial plan last year. The rates will take effect in October and appear on customers’ November bills. 

The typical residential Tulsa utility customer could expect their bill to increase by about $4.71 per month. 

Adjusted rates: 

• Water - 5.4% 

• Sewer - 2.3% 

• Stormwater - 12% 

• Refuse & Recycling - 4% 

• EMSA - no increase 

An enacted fiscal year budget is the City’s financial blueprint, or spending plan, for the year. However, it is a plan that changes almost weekly through appropriations and other measures. The City Council must approve any change that totals more than $100,000. These changes will appear on the Council’s regular business agenda for review and vote. The Council provides avenues for public input on all items before voting and residents are welcome to contact their City Councilor directly on any issue. Contact information can be found here. 

View the proposed budget, as of April 30, and the final version when available at the following link: https://www.cityoftulsa.org/budget 

View the budget process and priorities, links to presentations and discussions, and more about how the budget works here: https://www.tulsacouncil.org/budget