The Norman City Council voted to approve its 2023 budget in an hour-long special meeting Tuesday afternoon, granting the police department’s request for nine more positions.
The budget consisted of over $226 million, with public safety being the highest expenditure at 23 percent. The general fund totaled over $90 million in expenditures, with the police department, public works and fire department being the three largest disbursements in the fund.
The reasoning behind the special meeting to vote on the budget was to ensure that there was “ample time” to receive public comment and hold discussion, as well as to account for the council's regularly-scheduled meeting later that evening, according to Chief Communications Officer Tiffany Vrska.
The council voted on 15 amendments that would revise different parts of the budget at the meeting, including modifications to the capital project fund and general fund. All of the amendments passed.
The first amendment was to increase the capital fund by $182,654 to support a contribution to the Regional Transportation Authority. Norman resident Christina Owen asked if this contribution would increase following the cities of Moore and Midwest City dropping from the authority recently.
Mayor Breea Clark clarified that if a city were to drop out, they will stop receiving transportation stops in their city. She said Norman only pays for its stops, though the price could increase if more cities leave.
The Norman Police Department received funding for nine officer positions in the budget, and an additional amendment provided an extra $570,691 in the general fund and $225,850 from the Public Safety Sales Tax fund to go toward existing salary increases.
Ward 1 Councilmember Brandi Studley asked for clarification on if the reasoning for this amendment was based on a conversation with the Fraternal Order of Police and in addition to the $865,000 used for officer funding. City Manager Darrel Pyle said Studley was correct.
Two residents, Russell Rice and Owen, asked for funding for an extra two dispatchers, as this position is currently understaffed. Pyle said the lack of dispatchers is not a budget matter, but instead an application matter.
In 2020, the council reduced the police department’s budget increase by $865,000. Clark and Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Holman are the only members of that council to remain on the council today. Both voted to pass the amendment, as Studley was the only vote against.
Pyle said at the second public budget hearing on May 24 that the funds used to support the new positions were not the same as those reallocated in 2020, but from different revenue streams.
The city manager’s budget received two increases, one for contingency capital outlay expenditures and one dedicated to funding an internal auditor position.
Ward 2 Councilmember Lauren Schueler asked if this vote to support an internal auditor was dependent on a change to certify an auditor in the charter that is left to the voters, which will be included in the Aug. 23 election.
Pyle said should this charter change not pass through voters, council has the flexibility to either hire an audit to report to the city manager or contract out an auditor for specific things throughout the year, both of which would be supported by this amendment.
Ward 4 Councilmember Lee Hall said while she appreciates this flexibility, she took the Norman charter commission recommendation that the auditor report directly to council instead of the city manager.
Hall and Ward 3 Councilmember Kelly Lynn voted against this amendment in a vote of 7-2.
Water Fund Capital Project allocations were reduced by $773,000 due to the failure of the water rate increase vote earlier this year. According to Chris Mattingly, the Norman utilities director, this reduction is due to the Robinson water tower repainting project being pushed back a year.
Also, the water reclamation fund was reduced by $35,000. Anthony Francisco, Norman finance director, said no currently-planned projects would be directly impacted.
However, during the year, Francisco said money from other funds could be used to supplement. This measure passed unanimously.
An amendment to fund a stormwater park that would be a stepping stone to mitigation efforts and serve as an educational tool on Carter Avenue and Alameda Street passed in a vote of 8-1, with Studley voting against.
The property once held a homeless encampment, but the individuals living on the property were removed by the city after it was donated in late 2021.
Studley added that she appreciated the stormwater efforts, but did not want to ignore the history of the property, especially following the closing of the city’s warming shelter.
“At the end of the day, we displaced many of our homeless residents from this park who had been there for years and years without a place for them to go,” Studley said. “Of sheer principle, I think the 1.5 million could be used towards our homeless community instead to add another park to Norman.”
Also during the meeting, the capital fund project increased to fund sidewalks in the Miller District and on Rock Creek Road, a walking trail that would connect the Oakhurst and Woodcreek neighborhoods to a Walmart shopping center, and the addition of historical markers.
The final amendment that allowed for an on-demand turnkey micro-transit program was approved unanimously. This form of transit is a more accessible mode where riders request a vehicle to pick them up and drop them at their next point.
Holman said this amendment not only supports the bus system but also allows accessibility for disabled individuals, noting that Lynn and Studley have worked to bring this idea forward.
This measure passed unanimously, as did the budget in its entirety. The budget will take effect on July 1.
