The City of Tulsa has a mayor-council form of government. This form of government has been in place since 1989, at which time Tulsa converted from a city commission form of government. The mayor is elected by the entire population and each of the 9 Councilors are elected from districts based on population.
Tulsa is the county seat for Tulsa County. Within the boundaries of the city and surrounding county are tribal lands belonging to and governed by various Native American nations.
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The present mayor of Tulsa is Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr., a Republican. He was first sworn in as mayor in 2010. Prior to Mayor Bartlett, the office was occupied by Mayor Kathy Taylor, who had previously served as Secretary of Commerce and Tourism for the state of Oklahoma. Taylor, a Democrat, unseated Bill LaFortune, a Republican, in April 2006. The mayor serves a term of four years. The mayor is responsible for the day to day operations of the city and preparing a budget. The mayor names the police and fire chiefs.
Another former Tulsa mayor, Jim Inhofe, now represents Oklahoma in the United States Senate.
The current auditor of Tulsa is Preston Doerflinger. The auditor is elected independently of the City Council and Mayor to insure the auditor can act in an objective manner. Doerflinger, a Republican, was recently elected in 2009. The city auditor serves a term of two years.
The current Chairman of the Tulsa City Council is Maria Barnes (District 4), and the Vice Chairman is Jim Mautino (District 6). This position rotates between parties and members.
| Name | District | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Henderson | District 1 | D |
| Rick Westcott | District 2 | R |
| Roscoe Turner | District 3 | D |
| Maria Barnes | District 4 | D |
| Chris Trail | District 5 | R |
| Jim Mautino | District 6 | R |
| John Eagleton | District 7 | R |
| Bill Christiansen | District 8 | R |
| G.T. Bynum | District 9 | R |
Until 2007, City Hall was located in the civic center, a sector of downtown that included most governmental services, including the Federal Courthouse, Tulsa County Courthouse, Tulsa City-County Library, and The Convention Center. In 2007 Mayor Kathy Taylor proposed to move City Hall from its civic center location to One Technology Center, on the northwest corner of Second Street and Cincinnati. Taylor argued that a recent study showed the move would save $15.2 million over a 10-year period. Most of the savings would come from the new energy efficient building.[1] The move would then allow the City Hall property to be redeveloped into possibly a new hotel to support the new BOK Center.
On July 12, 2007 the Tulsa City Council voted 8-1 to move the City Hall to One Technology Center.[2]
Tulsa's first city office building was a two-story brick building constructed in 1906 at 211 West Second Street. Primarily intended as a fire station, it included administrative offices and a police station. The city jail was in the basement.[3] The city quickly outgrew that facility and began renting office space in the privately-owned Reeder Building.
In 1917, Tulsa government offices moved into a much larger facility at Fourth and Cincinnati, formally called the Municipal Building to house city services. This served the city until the 1960's, when the Civic Center building was opened.[4] The Municipal Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C on July 18, 1975. Its NRIS number is 75001574.[5]
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