Roscoe Turner



Q&A

  1. A recent presentation by a city councilor showed Tulsa's overall police and fire budget has grown more than three times above the rate of inflation over the last 40 years without adding manpower in at least the last decade. It has been described as "unsustainable growth" with the city's current level of revenue. How would you propose to address this situation?
  2. I still believe we should focus on uncollected sales taxes to increase the revenue. We can look at new sources of revenue, such as my idea for wind farms on city property, and I believe we can be a little more frugal and prioritize out spending. We can start by not accepting responsibility for 7+ million dollars in debt that we do not owe. The City essentially gave away over 7 million dollars and then turned around and told the City employees that the City could not afford to pay them to come to work everyday. That certainly sends a jaded message to the people who make this city function and provide fundamental services to its citizens.
  3. Over the last several years, controversy between the City Council and mayor's administration has triggered discussions about changing from the current strong mayor- council form of government to a city manager-council form of government and about having Tulsa's elected offices be non-partisan. Would you support either of these ideas? Why or why not?
  4. Changing the form of government is a great idea that I have pushed for in the past. However, I believe the council should have a super majority to hire a city manager. No elections are to be decided by party lines. This is a divide, control and conquer attitude that has been used all along.
  5. Improving mass transit (i.e. additional bus service, rail lines, etc.) has been a major topic of discussion through the city's ongoing PlaniTulsa comprehensive planning process. Do you believe Tulsa's public transportation system needs improvement? Please explain.
  6. I believe in public transportation for many reasons. Improving our system would improve our environment and help us avoid further problems with dirty air lists. It would also provide greater transportation options to those who rely on public transportation now as their only means of transportation. However, until the neighborhoods are brought together so that each area of the town is similar, we are just providing a way to circumvent an area of the city.
  7. What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?
  8. 1. Finding additional funding for cities and municipalities.

    2. Restart projects in my districts that have been set aside.

    3. Find a way to collect the sales taxes that are owed the City of Tulsa .