Owasso, Oklahoma
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Owasso is a city in Rogers and Tulsa counties in the state of Oklahoma, and a northern suburb of Tulsa. The population was 18,502 at the 2000 census, but was estimated to be at 26,352 in 2007.
[edit] Website evaluation
In 2011 Owasso earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.
This website was most recently evaluated on Jan. 11, 2012.
[edit] The good
- Current budget and annual financial audits are posted.[1]
- Meeting schedule, current agenda[2] and minutes are provided.[3]
- City council members are listed with contact information.[4]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information.[5]
- Building permits[6] and zoning ordinance available.[7]
- Contracts are posted online.[8]
- The city website discloses that it belongs to two Oklahoma taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.[9]
- Explain how to make records requests under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.[10]
- Local tax information provided. [11]
[edit] Website Upgrade
The Owasso City Manager, Rodney Ray reported that after getting a perfect score on Sunshine Review the city "actually tripled the amount of information that's available to our citizens online."[12] Of Sunshine Review's checklist Ray said, "It does set the bar high but it makes us really aware of what our responsibilities are."[13]
[edit] City Council
The City of Owasso operates under a politically stable council/city manager form of government, wherein the council is the legislative body. It passes ordinances, adopts the annual budget, and sets policy. The City Manager has full responsibility for the day-to-day administrative functions of the government.[4]
The Owasso City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Old Central, 109 N Birch (unless otherwise posted). Council Study Sessions are held on the second Tuesday at 6:00 pm at various city facilities (call for locations.)[4]
The current city council members.[4]
| Council member | Position | District |
|---|---|---|
| Bryan Stovall | Member | Ward 1 |
| Steve Cataudella | Member | Ward 2 |
| Wayne Guevara | Member | Ward 3 |
| Jon Sinex | Vice-Mayor | Ward 4 |
| Doug Bonebrake | Mayor | Ward 5 |
[edit] Spending
The City maintains a current total budget of $51 million, for the FY 2010-2011 budget year for all operations and funds. The General Fund Budget includes personnel costs and operations in the amount of $15.4 million. The Owasso Public Works Authority Fund includes $27.3 million for personnel, operating expenditures, capital outlay, and debt service payments. The Owasso Public Golf Authority’s budget is $876,218 for expenditures including personnel and operating expenditures and $28,280 in debt service payments, no capital outlay was included in the FY 2009-2010 OPGA budget.[1]
[edit] Lobbying
The City of Owasso is currently affiliated with the following organizations, which provide lobbying activities on behalf of local governments:[9]
- Indian Nation Council of Governement (INCOG)
- Heartland Consulting Inc.
[edit] Taxes
Owasso's sales tax is actually made up of three separate taxes; the state tax, the city tax, and the county tax. The state tax is 4.5%. The city tax is 3%. The county tax is 1.017%. Total Sales Tax for Owasso is 8.517%.[14]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Finance
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ Minutes
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 City Council
- ↑ Contact Us
- ↑ Building Permits
- ↑ Zoning Ordinance
- ↑ Contracts
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lobbying
- ↑ Open Record Request Form
- ↑ FAQ
- ↑ News on 6, Owasso Receives Highest Grade Possible For Transparency, January 8, 2010
- ↑ Tulsa World, Owasso gets high mark for openness, January 9, 2010
- ↑ FAQ's 'General City Information
