TULSA, Okla. — TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor is confirming the layoffs of 37 city employees — including 21 police officers.
Taylor has been looking to cut about $6 million from the city budget because of falling sales tax revenue during the economic downturn.
The Tulsa World reported on its Web site that Taylor said the city is "no longer cutting into the bone, we are cutting into the marrow."
Taylor says she's hoping to keep 18 of the officers by using money from a federal stimulus grant that was originally meant to hire new officers. And she says she hopes to keep the other officers by negotiating cost savings with the police union.
Taylor says the other 16 employees being laid off come from various other city departments.
Other cuts include grounding the two police helicopters, selling the horses and equipment for the mounted patrol until, selling 225 city vehicles and shutting off some lights on city-controlled expressways.
