Credit U.S. Department of Agriculture
Updates to Tulsa’s animal ordinances were on track to prohibit roosters over eight weeks old in residential areas, but city councilors may have figured out a way to avoid the ban.
Roosters start crowing at six to eight weeks old, but District 5 Councilor Mykey Arthrell-Knezek said he’s collared roosters for years to keep them from being the neighborhood alarm clock and suggested that practice could be worked into the ordinance. It just basically mutes the crow because it restricts the pipe so there’s less air coming out when they try and do the burst. So, it’s more of them, like, gasping than making any noise, but they’re fine. They can be alive forever with this on. It doesn’t impact their health, Arthrell-Knezek said.
Credit Tulsa Flag
Tulsa city councilors and the mayor’s office met virtually on Wednesday for their annual retreat to lay out priorities for the coming year.
Many big plans from 2020 are still on the table because they got derailed during the coronavirus pandemic. Those include neighborhood revitalization, raising all city employees’ pay to at least $15 an hour, and making permanent a joint mental health response team that includes Tulsa police, fire and mental health professionals.
The Equality Indicators are still on many councilors’ minds. The annual report gauges disparities across a wide variety of social and economic measures, and councilors had started digging into potential policies last year to close some of the gaps. First-term District 9 Councilor Jayme Fowler said he likes the idea of the Equality Indicators and wants to see another metric added: access to quality schools.