Tulsa gets 3.5 million for new officers

Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Mayor Kathy Taylor announced today she received notice from the White House of the availability of $3.5 million in grant funding for the hiring of 18 Tulsa law enforcement officers under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The award of the grant is contingent upon Tulsa City Council approval and must be accepted in its entirety for the funds to be allocated.

The grant will be administered by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through the federal agency's COPS Hiring Recovery Program.

The grant will provide 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for 18 entry level officer positions over a three year period.  Tulsa Police Department will then be required to retain the grant funded positions for a fourth year.

"This is great news for Tulsa", said Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor. "As we face significant budget constraints brought forth by the national economic downturn, this grant award could go a very long way in addressing our city's public safety needs.  I look forward to working together with our City Council in addressing the associated out-year costs."

"I would also like to give recognition to Senator Inhofe, Senator Coburn and Representative Sullivan in providing the needed support and leadership in helping Tulsa to secure this funding,"

Director of Government Affairs for the City of Tulsa Stuart McCalman said.

"We were provided guidance by the Department of Justice that, at most, recipients would receive $1 for every $8 requested due to the overwhelming number of applications nationwide.  Based on that guidance, we have actually received over twice the amount that would have typically been expected."

The funding provides much needed support to state and local government budgets, and will help the nation's law enforcement agencies add and retain the manpower needed to fight crime more effectively through community policing. (Source: The City of Tulsa)

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 July 2009 )