Combatting COVID-19 Business Impacts: City, Chamber Unite to Form Mayor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Committee
As COVID-19 sends ripples through our daily lives, one of our biggest strengths in Tulsa has always been our ability to go about our business and respect our neighbors.
Respect in this difficult time has come in the form of sacrifice for many of my fellow Tulsans. Businesses and organizations across this city have selflessly ceased or reduced operations to protect our must vulnerable neighbors while working to help relieve the strain on our healthcare system.
As restrictions are rolled back in the coming weeks and months as we see a downward trend in cases, it’s ever daunting to see how we can rebuild our economy safely, quickly and in a manner that positions Tulsa for years of economic success down the road.
How do we start doing that now? That’s the question we started asking as soon as many Tulsa businesses were making sacrifices in the name of public health.
Our current solution – The Mayor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Committee. It’s a partnership between the City of Tulsa, the Tulsa Regional Chamber and other relevant institutions. The committee will focus on analysis and recommendations to support quality job growth and the expansion of our regional economy.
This data-driven approach will drive the committee, which will meet weekly. Separately, the committee has formed three subcommittees to evaluate three key areas: Public Health and Economic Recovery, Existing Business and Industry, and Economy and Economic Growth.
After the committee receives COVID-19 data and reviews its impact on the regional economy, each subcommittee will conduct relevant analyses to identify national and global best recovery practices. Each subcommittee will provide draft recommendations to the committee, the Tulsa Regional Chamber and myself.
We’ll analyze that information and conduct public outreach to determine the relevance and impact of these new recommendations.
What are the top threats leaders should consider? What are the top three policy recommendations for recovery? These are just two of multiple subcommittee outcomes we aim to accomplish. By June 1, subcommittees will report out a set of draft recommendations to the full committee.
Any policy recommendations the committee develops will be made publicly available with the expectation the city, chamber, and other relevant institutions will conduct further analysis and outreach as we consider the recommendations.
I want to remind Tulsans these are unprecedented times. Aside from the death of a family member, one of the hardest days of my life was when I asked Tulsa business owners to either close or limit operations to protect the lives of our neighbors. So many of these folks have poured their lives into their business, and sadly some of our lives will never be the same.
But as we cross this uncharted territory, I’m proud to be Tulsa’s mayor and optimistic for continued economic growth as we safely reopen and develop strategies to ensure Tulsans have the resources and stability needed to withstand anything this virus throws at them.
