Shannon Cornman Nevertheless, the Court Appointed Special Advocates organization, which helps abused and neglected children, in March received $50,000 in supplemental dollars from the county budget board. Of the eight-member panel, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan cast the sole vote against the funding. “I am a strong supporter of CASA,” said Maughan. He paused and […]
budget
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The gap trap
While city revenue is expected to grow at a rate of around 3 percent, city Budget Director Doug Dowler told the council on Jan. 31, forecasts show overall expenditures are likely to increase at a rate of around 4.4 percent over the next five years. The biggest anticipated expenditure growth lies in personnel services and […]
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Contingency plan
At its regular Aug. 30 meeting, the council narrowly approved a MAPS 3 budget plan that put the $30 million into an infrastructure/contingency fund. The plan was one of three proposals suggested by MAPS 3 consultant Architectural Design Group, which in July first presented to the MAPS 3 convention center subcommittee a plan to remove […]
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‘The new normal’
Wronowski, who holds a master’s degree in education and was a research scientist prior to becoming a teacher, said the process was as challenging as getting her master’s degree. The teacher training program, recognized as one of the best and most rigorous in the nation, takes an average of about 200 hours to complete, and […]
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For art’s sake
Oklahoma City businessman Jim Tolbert is set to lead the new group, Oklahomans for the Arts, and is joined by public relations executive Kym Koch Thompson and Tulsa arts advocate and volunteer Linda Frazier. According to the founders, the main goal of the group is to inform people about the economic importance of art in […]
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Restoration project
And compared to previous years’ budgets full of bad news, cuts and declining revenue, this one wasn’t so bad. “Relative to last year, it’s good economic times, but if you look at the trends that we’ve seen, it’s really more moderate economic times,” said City Manager Jim Couch. “There are a lot of good things […]
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Optimistic thoughts
The municipal budget, which like many cities has taken a beating recently thanks to the recession, is projected to show enough increase to begin to restore some positions cut as a result of the revenue shortfalls in previous years, said city Budget Director Craig Freeman. The budget proposal at the next council meeting will be […]
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Cutting up
I love breathing mercury, arsenic and caustic gases. I’m glad my children will have increased opportunities for severe asthma, allergies or cancer. I’m glad for “cheap” energy costing them only the mountains and the integrity of their drinking water. Glad intestinal or life-threatening diseases are also great possibilities, as the water infrastructure and treatment options […]
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State of flux
The February meeting was more cordial than the previous meeting, in which state Superintendent Janet Barresi locked horns with board members. Former state Sen. Herb Rozell, the member state Republicans demanded resign following comments about one of Barresi’s legislative liaison appointments, was absent from the meeting. Tim Gilpin, who in the previous meeting told Barresi […]
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Counterpoint: A matter of perspective
They say that as if it’s a bad thing. It’s not. As the Nov. 2 shellacking made perfectly clear, people want less government and more freedom. As one wag observed, that wasn’t an election — it was a restraining order. From Nov. 5 to 11, telephone interviewers for SoonerPoll asked likely voters: “Which would you […]