TULSA, Okla. — Inside a packed room at city hall, leaders learned about a new initiative aimed at making Tulsa better financially.
“Increasing individual, personal wealth one Tulsan at a time helps solve a lot of the other larger challenges that we see community-wide around evictions, educational attainment, health outcomes,” said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum.
Bynum unveiled the Office of Financial Empowerment and Community Wealth Thursday morning.
“It’ll be the one-stop shop for the City of Tulsa as we pursue other financial empowerment initiatives and it will be the way that we channel a lot of grants and other programs from around the United States into Tulsa,” Bynum said.
The new division comes a few years after the city established a Financial Empowerment Center where Tulsans receive free financial counseling and assistance.
In its first two years in operation, the center served nearly 600 clients and helped reduce more than $200,000 in debt. They also helped build more than $200,000 in savings. The city is hoping to further that work.
“We do know that people are saving more money,” said Brad Willows. “They’re paying down debt. They’re improving their credit. They’re budgeting and improving their financial lives.”
Willows is with the national non-profit Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. They’re providing the money, training, and technical assistance for the Tulsa office.
“The work is important because city governments have a direct interest in making sure that their residents are financially stable and are able to build wealth and contribute to a financially strong and prosperous city,” Willows said.
Tulsa is one of six local governments chosen as a Financial Empowerment City.
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