| Updated: 3/09/2010 5:40 pm |
Published: 3/09/2010 1:00 pm
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Mayor Dewey Bartlett in the hot seat. Tuesday, city councilors questioned him about a federal grant used to rehire police officers. Fox 23's Douglas Clark has the story.
Did the mayor wait too long before asking for financial help from the federal government? That's what city councilors are trying to find out.
The issue is a federal grant used to rehire 35 Tulsa police officers. They were off the job for several weeks, costing the city more than $300,000 in severance.
Based on his research, Councilor Bill Christiansen says the administration could have asked the federal government to use the grant money to retain the officers, in order to avoid actually laying them off and paying the severance.
A representative from the federal government told Fox 23 that in most cases, employees do not actually have to be laid off before requesting a change in how the grant money would be used.
But Mayor Bartlett says he was told the opposite by the federal government, that the layoffs had to actually occur.
He says ongoing negotiations with the police union made it difficult to predict whether the layoffs that occurred in late January would become permanent, which is why he waited more than a week before contacting the Justice Department.
“I was very serious in still trying to negotiate with the police union. I still thought there was a good possibility that we could make a deal and come up with some sort of compromise,” says Bartlett.
Fox 23 obtained an email between the Department of Justice and the mayor's Chief of Staff Terry Simonson, which states that grant money could be used to retain officers. The city simply needs documentation regarding potential, but not actual layoffs.
Separately Tuesday, the mayor said next year, he would consider using the federal grant to hire sheriff's deputies to help protect Tulsa, if economic conditions remain challenging. When asked how he felt about that possibility, Chief Chuck Jordan said that right now, Tulsa has an adequate number of officers to protect Tulsa.
As far as the 89 officers still off the job, there is no indication they will be rehired by the end of the fiscal year June 30th. The mayor said current negotiations are focused mainly on next year's contract.