One of a councilmember's top priorities is to protect the city's General Fund and be a good steward of its finances. The City of Norman operates on a $106 million dollar budget with $8 million for capital, which means that all departments are competing for the same dollars. Kyle believes that his background in developing budgets, pro formas, and working with financial experts will be an asset to City leadership.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is one of the legs to a healthy Public Safety system along with fire, police, and dispatch. Kyle has spent his entire career developing good relationships with his colleagues in these areas. Norman citizens have repeatedly stated that they want Norman to be safe. Kyle believes in having the appropriately sized Public Safety community, along with the tools needed to do their job, and also with the appropriate oversight & accountability.
We have a finite amount of water and our town is growing. We must plan for Norman's future when it comes to water availability (wells, buying more from OKC, potable reuse). Norman is also one of the few towns without a dedicated stormwater utility fee. We are also one of the only towns in which we must continually vote to raise our water rates, which in the long term hurts our General Fund. Kyle is interested in working to ensure Norman citizens never have to worry about their water.
No town has figured this out but some are doing it better than others. As a former front-line paramedic, Kyle has seen first hand the ramifications of being homeless which is always untreated & undiagnosed medical conditions. Do we house them? Do we treat them first? We, as a community, need to come together to help our unhoused neighbors go from having nothing to supporting themselves. How we do that is the challenge, and Kyle is up for it.
Norman is growing, our arts district is thriving, new businesses keep opening up, and the SEC is coming. With talks of an entertainment district on the horizon, how we attract new businesses & families is important. Do we leverage tax dollars for future expansion while being mindful of our General Fund and other obligations? Kyle is interested in working with the Chamber, NEDC, the OU Foundation, business leaders, and City leadership on what the best plan may be - all the while soliciting citizen input.