Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World Reporter
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Gov. Kevin Stitt’s cleanout of Tulsa homeless encampments last month cost the state at least $560,000, according to documents obtained from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
All but $15,000 of that went to Boomer Environmental, an Oklahoma City contractor that supplied the equipment and most of the non-law enforcement personnel for the two-week effort dubbed Operation SAFE.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol deployed 20-25 troopers daily during the operation, which shut down more than 60 encampments in the city, but attached no cost to that because the assignment was considered regular duty.
Boomer Environmental’s final invoice, obtained from ODOT through an Open Records Act request, shows it billed the state $208,596.13 for labor, $267,095.18 for equipment and $54,312.59 for trash disposal.
The total bill from Boomer Environmental was $545,680. ODOT said its costs for the operation came to $15,928.01.
Boomer Environmental’s daily totals varied. In addition to a project manager, the state was billed for as many as 18 and as few as two workers in any one day. Each worker was billed at 14-17.5 hours most days, plus $54.45 per worker per day for personal protection equipment.
The equipment consisted mostly of trucks, trailers, excavators and jet washers.
State officials said workers collected almost 2 million pounds of trash, and Boomer Environmental charged the state $56.18 per ton for disposal.
Stitt initially billed the effort as a public safety operation, but it recorded no arrests. OHP was enforcing a state law law that outlaws camps on state property.
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com
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Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World Reporter
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