Issues for District 1

Taxation – District 1 has the lowest income rates in the City of Tulsa and the highest tax rate and the city is just forging ahead raising both tax rates and utility rates making this burden even greater.

Economic Development – District 1 will never get ahead until its residents can cover their bills and have the luxury of a few dollars left to be able to actually shop at a local store or have any choices at all beyond trying to keep the lights and water on. Local businesses are the absolute keys to the kingdom to invigorate the localized economy and there are too many barriers to free up the time and resources for our friends and neighbors to create these opportunities. We have to pave the way for our neighbors to get their businesses started and pave the way for all of us to be able to afford to do business with them. Local dollars roll through the economy many times over while money spent with large corporations usually exit our local economy without much impact.

Utility Shut Offs – There is no excuse whatsoever for this City to ever leave one of its citizens without water… the bill is too high as it is but the current rate is roughly equal to 10% of the take home pay for the average worker in District 1… that is just for the water/sewer/trash. Tulsa can do better and will have to get creative but until those solutions are found, leaving our most vulnerable without water service while blowing through millions of dollars to house the homeless seems absolutely ridiculous. There aren’t comparative numbers for the water shut offs but we know that Tulsa’s right at the top of the list for electric utility shut offs and with the size of the water bill outpacing many people’s power bill, the likelihood that we lead the nation in water shut-offs is highly likely as well. Maybe our City Councilors haven’t had their water shut off, but few seem to factor in the real cost of utility shut offs… going without clean bodies or clean clothes, being unable to flush the toilet or run any water which is a necessity of life for humans and pets can all take a serious toll. Plus cutting the pressure and then turning it back on can cause major plumbing issues and even cost someone their hot water tank which is a real kick in the teeth after rounding up all available cash just to turn it back on. It is worse than a poor tax, it is humiliation and inhuman to have people on the payroll who go and shut off the water on some person down on their luck or making the kids suffer over their parents lack of income.

Roads and Infrastructure – District 1 workers have the lowest incomes, the highest tax rates and the longest commutes across the worst roads... the voice of District 1 needs to be the loudest and most firm because we are getting ignored and the roads show it.

Neighborhood In-fill – Tulsa is incentivizing and spending millions of dollars on housing while you cannot drive through any District 1 neighborhood without seeing boarded up houses. The last inventory I found from Tulsa Planning showed 190k housing units with 90% occupied – meaning 19k housing units were empty and the rate of empty houses in North Tulsa is double the rate in South Tulsa I cannot speak to these 19k units but I can speak to a city pulling out all the stops building new apartment complexes and backing any plays to get the homeless off the streets without addressing the boarded up houses in earnest. Whatever the causes for these homes, we cannot continue to sacrifice neighborhoods to a cascading failure that begins with some abandoned house that sends ripples of neglect through a neighborhood and rapidly devalues all adjoining and adjacent properties. The path forward has to address the existing houses with some absolute authority and swiftness, this one has gone on far too long. I respect property rights, but we cannot leave 19k unoccupied housing units on the books and claim a shortage coming of 13k housing units and not try to resolve the one that will create the greatest positive impact for existing residents and addressing the projected shortfall..

Homelessness, Addiction and Mental Health – I am baffled at the housing first approach to ending the homelessness problem in Tulsa… Having worked in outreach for years and knowing so many folks who are homeless and understanding why and what they need and how to tackle these issues, I think there is a huge gap in understanding. Giving drug addicts brand new apartments will just get your appliances traded off for fentanyl and giving folks with serious mental health concerns a place to live that does not also create an ongoing care plan will not result in less homelessness, it just extends the problem and wastes time and resources. The problem has been brewing since the asylums were closed and the solution is multifaceted and will require some state intervention. I would love to see everyone in a housing situation that wants one, but there are also plenty of those living in the encampments who are there for the freedom… this is a much larger problem than you can throw a house at to resolve and without more focus on the roots of the issues, the City is just going to extend it on the backs of the hardest working people of the City and we can do better.

More to come…