City of Tulsa

Mayor to Organize City to Focus on Key Areas Impacting Community

2/10/2025

Today, Mayor Monroe Nichols announced some functional shifts within the City of Tulsa to focus on key areas impacting the community. Most of the changes will be made immediately, but the City expects the structure to be in place by March 9 and to have a formalized organizational structure in place by the end of March.

“Immediately after I was sworn in, I began meeting with City leadership on ways we can create efficiencies and make larger impacts within the community as it relates to ending homelessness, improving student outcomes, expanding economic opportunity, making Tulsa the safest big city in America, increasing affordable housing, and co-governing with tribal governments,” Mayor Nichols said. “This new organizational alignment reflects these goals while elevating the employees focused on this work, and I couldn’t be prouder of our team for their dedication to the community.”

The day-to-day functions of the City, its departments, offices, divisions, and sub-sections remain unaffected, but the reimagination of the current Department of City Experience will help elevate the goals set forth by the Mayor, as well as many of the goals discussed during the Mayor-Council retreat earlier this year.

Main Takeaways

Shift in Housing Focus

With the City’s focus to increase the affordable housing stock by 6,000 units by 2028 and help reduce Tulsa’s eviction rate and cost burden taken on by developers to produce more affordable housing stock, the housing section within the former Department of City Experience will be reporting directly to the Mayor’s Housing Advisor, along with the Development Services Department, the department centered on residential and commercial permitting. This movement will align staff focused on the City’s goals through better collaboration and create a team dedicated to this work.

Creation of the Planning and Neighborhoods Department
The Department of City Experience will be changed to the Planning and Neighborhoods Department to have a direct focus on creating better outcomes for neighborhoods and further establishing the Neighborhoods Conditions Index work. This Department, led by James Wagner, will be comprised of the Tulsa Planning Office, Neighborhoods section, and the Code Enforcement Division.

Creation of the Animal Services Department
This former division under the Department of City Experience will now serve as a standalone department, elevating their work to create better outcomes in neighborhoods and create better health outcomes for animals in the City’s care. This change also aligns with the construction of Tulsa’s new Animal Services Shelter and the work to support and enhance their services. This new department will report to the Public Safety Division, along with the Police, Fire and Municipal Court departments.

Focus on Education and Resilience Work
Tulsa’s new Deputy Mayor Krystal Reyes, who took her post today, will also be tasked with overseeing:

The newly created Resilience and Equity Department, which will be led by a newly hired Chief Resilience Officer and;
A newly created office – the Mayor’s Office of Public Art and Community Partnerships (work formerly being conducted in the Design Studio with the Department of City Experience), along with;
The Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and Families

Addition of two Deputy City Administrators

Two Department Directors have been selected to serve as Deputy City Administrators, reporting directly to the City Administrator. While both will remain as Department Directors, each will have a unique focus on goals set forth by the Administration.

Anna America, Deputy City Administrator for Parks and Public Facilities - America will continue to oversee the Parks Department and will be tasked with overseeing the Asset Management Department, and a section formerly in the Department of City Experience focusing on special projects surrounding cultural assets. America will also continue to oversee external City contracts relating to the City’s cultural assets such as BOK Center and Convention Center, etc.
James Wagner, Deputy City Administrator for Planning and Performance - Wagner will oversee the Planning and Neighborhoods Department and will also be tasked with overseeing the Office of Performance and Accountability (a former division in the Finance Department focused on using data to create efficiencies within the City of Tulsa)

The rest of the realignment largely centers on new and centralized reporting structures that better align employees with broader goals that improve community priorities.

For the latest information on Mayor Nichols’ six core priorities, visit www.cityoftulsa.org/mayor.

Mayor to Organize City to Focus on Key Areas Impacting Community

2/10/2025

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