Norman City Council discussed issuing bonds for a permanent homeless shelter, two resolutions addressing immigration in Norman and the city’s participation in the 911 Association of Central Oklahoma Governments during its study session Tuesday night.
Immigration resolution
The news: Council discussed two proposed resolutions addressing immigration in Norman. The first resolution, led by Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant, directs city staff to post information on language education resources, local consulates, and clarifications about municipal rules on the city website. The resolution also instructs staff to post information regarding the Norman Human Rights Commission and how to submit a complaint to the commission.
Grant said that they wrote the proposal in response to concerns expressed by Norman’s immigrant communities. Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman said that Grant has been working on the resolution for more than a year.
The second resolution, proposed by Ward 3 Councilmember Robert Bruce, reiterates Norman’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and abiding by state and federal statutes. While stating that city staff must administer services without discrimination, the proposal specifically states that Norman does not endorse or encourage illegal immigration. Bruce proposed the alternative resolution during Council’s Sept. 22 special meeting, stating that his alternative was written to avoid providing a “false sense of security” to undocumented residents.
During the September meeting, Council debated the resolutions, with several councilmembers raising concerns about the inclusion of the Norman Human Rights Commission in Grant’s proposal. Ward 1 Councilmember David Gandesbery expressed concern that considering immigration-related complaints was not a responsibility listed in the Commission’s bylaws, while Ward 6 councilmember Kyle Steele suggested adding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other agencies with enforcement power to the resolution.
What they’re saying: Bruce said he thought Grant’s proposed resolution would give undocumented immigrants a false sense of security in Norman and “encourage” and “attract additional unlawful residents.” Bruce also said he thought the issue of immigration was beyond municipal government and the city’s website was the “wrong place” for immigrants to seek information with fears that the website could be misleading.
“If you're an unlawful immigrant, you're going to the wrong place, just going to the wrong place, and for us to think we're smart enough to update that web page, I think would cause more problems,” Bruce said.
Grant argued that because the city is accessible, it would be a good place for people to find information and that the city would be capable of keeping the page up to date.
“We're very approachable,” Grant said. “People can come ask city clerks for info. It's not like going to the county or your state legislature or legislator's office, so I don't think it's bad to have information for people that centralize where they can figure out where they need to go next.”
Councilmembers discussed concerns that undocumented immigrants might hesitate to report being victimized by a crime out of fear of being reported to immigration services. Norman Police Department’s Maj. Chad Vincent said the department believes Grant’s proposed resolution could cause confusion about its involvement in immigration.
“From a police department standpoint, we believe this could muddy the waters,” Vincent said. “I think we're very clear. Our mission is public safety, not immigration. From a police department standpoint, we're concerned about everybody, regardless of your immigration status.”
Because Bruce and Grant could not come to an agreement on the resolution, Steele suggested council could discuss amendments at the next city council meeting. Holman later suggested the public could also give input on the issue.
“That will be a public hearing. Everybody will get to comment,” Holman said.
Homeless shelter bonds
The news: Council discussed next steps for issuing bonds to fund the construction of a permanent homeless shelter. Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma ruled in favor of the voter-approved plan to issue an $8 million general obligation bond to fund the shelter through property tax revenue.
Bond counsel Nathan Ellis said council will plan to have a resolution to set the sale date of the bonds at the regular council meeting next Tuesday and proceed with the sale the morning of Dec. 8. He said council will be able to approve an agenda item to award the sale to the lowest bidder later that day at the Dec. 8 meeting.
What they’re saying: Holman asked Ellis to speak on why the sale would be awarded to the lowest bidder.
Ellis explained that statutory requirements mandate that the bonds be advertised to the public and be awarded to the bidder that offers the lowest interest rate.
911 ACOG participation
The news: Council discussed the city’s participation in the 911 Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. The 911 Association of Central Oklahoma is a group composed of Central Oklahoma communities that runs the regional Enhanced 911 emergency communications service. Enhanced 911 is an emergency communications system that allows dispatchers to locate callers in the event of an emergency.
As a part of the 911 ACOG, Norman partners with other Central Oklahoma municipalities to provide shared infrastructure for emergency communications within the region for communities that have not been big enough to support these services in the past. Historically, the 911 ACOG has been funded through a portion of a fee on residents’ monthly phone bill, but because the population of Norman has grown, the city is now capable of supporting emergency communication services on its own without relying on 911 ACOG.
What they’re saying: Considering the city’s capability, council discussed possible separation from the group. City Manager Darrel Pyle described how the council could adopt a resolution or ordinance stating that it would like to separate. In the event of separation, Pyle said the city could also receive money that had previously been reserved for possible future construction projects. Council discussed using these funds to expand dispatch services and other public safety investments.
Though a separation would benefit Norman, councilmembers expressed concern that it might negatively impact smaller communities in the area. Addressing this, Pyle suggested the council develop a notice of intent of exit that would give 911 ACOG a timeframe in which the city might separate.
“We need to regroup and figure out what it looks like if we depart,” Pyle said.
Pyle said city staff will draft a notice of intent for the council to review at a future study session.
This story was edited by Spencer Windholz
