Kevin Canfield
Tulsa World Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today
Wednesday was a bad day for Oklahoma mental health service providers.
Local providers were not spared — an estimated $10 million in contracts with Tulsa-based organizations were cut.
The news came on the same day Mayor Monroe Nichols kicked off a second series of Community Conversations on the critical challenges facing the city.
The focus of Wednesday night’s meeting: public safety, alternative response programs and mental health services.
“Obviously, there was some news today that we’ll talk about as far as funding cuts go,” Nichols said at the start of a panel discussion at OU-Tulsa. “But I think all of that is a good overlay for us here in this community, but the real recognition that we’ve got real challenges here.
“We all live here together. We’re all gonna have to figure out how to get there together, right? And that’s what these are about.”
Nichols, who took office in December, is using the Community Conversations to help determine whether the city should raise revenues to help pay for the types of services cut Wednesday and a slew of others.
“I think there’s going to be, additionally, a conversation at some point about, how do we resource these really important things that we all know are critical to the future?” Nichols said
Zack Stoycoff, executive director of Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, said the city — including police and firefighters — and mental health service providers have created a strong partnership that has made great inroads in addressing the mental health crisis in the community.
“And so while we don’t have necessarily any announcement today about something is going away, specifically, tomorrow, we do know that … this trend cannot continue, and this partnership cannot continue in its current form if funding continues to trickle away,” Stoycoff said. “So my point here, mayor, is we very well could lose services if this trend continues.”
Adam Andreassen, executive director of Family and Children’s Services, said the organization saw about $4 million in contracts terminated Wednesday.
The cuts won’t mean the elimination of critical programs like COPES — mobile mental health units that serve individuals in crisis — but will make it impossible for FCS to keep up with the growing demand for services.
“Everybody knows that if you invest in mental health now, then you’re reducing the impact years down (the road),” Andreassen said. “The average delay from the time a child is identified by a loved one as having a mental health need, the average delay to where they get their first encounter and care is six years.”
“Imagine that was cancer or a broken leg. What conversation were you having? And so that’s what we’re up against.”
Nichols has not proposed a funding package but has pointed to reports he believes indicate a need for more revenue and support among Tulsa for raising it.
An analysis conducted by the City Auditor’s Office at Nichols’ request found that Tulsa’s sales tax rate was the fourth-lowest of the 14 municipalities listed in the report. The mayor has said the city’s sales tax rate of 3.65% — the overall rate is 8.517% — ranks in the bottom five when compared to other communities in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas.
The Children’s Funding Project, meanwhile, conducted in August a survey of 600 Tulsans that found 39% of respondents believe the city has a great need for more money to maintain essential services, and 36% of respondents believe there is some need.
The survey also indicated strong support among respondents for each of the three sales tax increase options presented to them: 75% strongly or somewhat supported a 0.3% increase; 74% strongly or somewhat supported a 0.4% increase; and 80% strongly or somewhat supported a 0.7% increase.
A $150 million bond package that would not raise taxes also received support from a large majority of respondents.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. FM3 Research is listed as the firm that conducted the survey.
Nichols ended Wednesday night’s meeting by encouraging attendees to call their state representatives and Gov. Kevin Stitt to urge them to provide more funding for mental health services.
But he also made clear that Tulsa, like other cities across the country, must have difficult conversations about what more they can do to address their most pressing problems.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with mayors across the country, and there’s a realization that there are less resources coming from the federal government, for whatever reason,” Nichols said. “… And it just means that so many of the challenges that maybe we could have hoped that other folks can help us solve are things we have to think really seriously about how do solve them here locally.
“That’s an important part of the conversation I think we have to have.”
The next Community Conversation with the mayor is scheduled for Oct. 13 at Hardesty Regional Library’s Frossard Auditorium, 8316 E. 93rd St.
The topic of discussions will be essential and daily services.
Tulsans can also submit questions on the topics they would like answered by the city of Tulsa online at forms.office.com/g/Q7VBrmXMVW.
Questions will be answered at the meetings or a city representative will respond directly.
All meetings will be recorded and posted on the city of Tulsa’s YouTube page, @CityofTulsa, on the week of the meeting date.
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Kevin Canfield
Tulsa World Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today