Norman City Council approved a three-year audit plan, an internal audit charter and discussed the community wildfire protection plan at its Tuesday evening meetings.
Fiscal year end 2026 budget
The news: Council heard a presentation from city budget manager Kim Coffman on the fiscal year end 2025-26 budget plan.
According to the presentation, the city’s projected total revenues would be $316,899,864, with 29.8% collected from general sales tax. Projected total expenditures amount to $295,251,765.
The city’s general fund expenditures are projected to be $111,222,714 with 28% going to the police department, 19.7% going to the fire department and 19.3% going to public works.
According to Norman finance director Anthony Francisco, last year, the city’s general fund projected expenditures totaled $108 million.
In January, Francisco told OU Daily that the city’s expenditures are growing at a faster rate than its revenue. If this trend persists, Francisco said the city will experience a negative fund balance, which is illegal according to Oklahoma state law.
The meeting to approve the 2025-26 budget plan will be June 10.
What they’re saying: Dan Munson, a Ward 7 resident, said the room tax fund, an account made up of tax revenue from hotel rooms or other lodging, saw an increase of $100,000 after OU’s first year in the Southeastern Conference.
“There was a lot of hype about Norman moving to the SEC and the financial windfall that was going to bring, but it didn’t deliver,” Munson said.
During OU’s first game weekend in the SEC, the average daily rates for hotels were increased by about 40% compared to a typical Big 12 game, while future stay values for hotels are up 177% and future daily rates up 140%. Norman voters approved an increase to the city’s hotel room tax by three percent in 2023.
Internal audit charter
The news: According to a staff report, the internal audit charter serves as a formal, written agreement between the city council, the city auditor and the city manager outlining how the office of the city auditor will be managed.
The staff report states that the charter authorizes the office’s access to records, personnel and physical properties relevant to the performance of engagements and defines the scope and types of internal audit activities.
What they’re saying: Mayor Larry Heikkila said he had trouble with some of the language included in the charter.
“We want to make sure that, when we are working with people who are their ‘dues-payers,’ we don’t conflict with those,” Heikkila said.
Heikkila said there was no quality, assurance and improvement program in the current version of the charter. City Auditor Shaakira Calnick said the program would allow an external auditor to assess the internal audit function to identify gaps in the charter.
The vote: Council approved the resolution in a 6-1 vote. Heikkila voted against the resolution.
Triennial audit plan
The news: Council approved a three-year audit plan covering fiscal year end 2025 to fiscal year end 2027.
According to a staff report, 800 hours were allocated to city council and city management audit requests to ensure alignment with the city’s strategic goals and address areas of high risk.
The staff report states the plan will benefit the city by enhancing accountability, improving efficiency, assuring compliance and increasing public trust.
“Transparent audits demonstrate the city’s commitment to governance, transparency, and responsible management of taxpayer dollars,” the report reads.
According to the audit plan document, the city auditor’s office estimated 5,592 audit hours will be available during the three-year plan period. The plan states 3,520 hours were allocated to scheduled audits and 2,072 hours were allocated to other audit services such as unscheduled audit requests, investigations, audit plan development, committee participation and the fraud training program.
The vote: Council approved the resolution in a 6-1 vote. Heikkila voted against the resolution.
Community wildfire protection plan
The news: Council saw a presentation on the development of a Norman community wildfire protection plan at its conference meeting.
According to the presentation, a community wildfire protection plan is developed to prevent, respond to and recover from wildfires.
The presentation states from 2019 to 2023, Norman has had 3,497 outside fires, 1,664 structure fires, 944 vehicle fires and 211 miscellaneous fires.
On March 14, wildfires broke out across the state with authorities reporting over 130 fires in 44 counties. In Norman, it’s estimated that seven homes and 20 outbuildings were lost to the fires.
According to the presentation, much of east and north Norman is directly exposed to potential wildfires. Areas of concern include Canadian River, Lake Thunderbird State Park, Saxon Park area, Hall Park, Royal Oaks Park, Little River, Sutton Wilderness and Ruby Grant Park.
What they’re saying: Deputy Fire Chief Joel Chesser, who gave the presentation, said recommendations for the wildfire plan include evacuation planning, access improvement, community outreach, public education, vegetation management and infrastructure protection.
According to the presentation, next steps to complete the community wildfire protection plan include seeking funding and resources like state and federal grants, implementing mitigation measures and beginning community engagement and education programs.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Natalie Armour.
