Councilor John Eagleton has expressed his opposition to proposals to solve the City of Tulsa budget crisis by imposing taxes and fees on entertainment-related goods and services. From a January 27, 2010, Tulsa World story:

"If we raise taxes we will drive business and industry away from Tulsa," Councilor John Eagleton said. 

By targeting one particular industry, "we will get less from that industry," he said. 

Switching Tulsa's ambulance service from EMSA to a Tulsa Fire Department-based service would cost Tulsa city government nearly $3 million more per year, according to an analysis performed in late 2006 by a task force that included city staff, members of the medical community, and representatives from both EMSA and TFD. EMSA CEO Steve Williamson cited the study in a January 14, 2010, memo to the Tulsa City Council, following up on a January 12, 2010, Council committee meeting. According to Williamson, $2.96 million is likely a bare minimum additional cost:

It is important to note these figures assume TFD would realize the same collection rate as EMSA does, despite the fact that the group was unable to find a single city using fire-based EMS that had collection rates matching EMSA’s. In other words, it is quite likely that Tulsa’s price tag, as a result of reduced collections, would have been much more than an extra $2.96 million. The financial burden of a fire-based ambulance service, coupled with the serious concerns about clinical care voiced by the medical community, made switching to a TFD-operated ambulance service undesirable. 

Tulsa's "community cost per response" is $66.43. That reflects the fees paid by residents of Tulsa and surrounding communities, divided by the number of EMSA responses. Oklahoma City's cost per response is $73.29. (OKC is also served by EMSA.) By comparison, the Dallas Fire Department's EMS service is subsidized by the community at the rate of $211.96 per response. While Tulsa collected $19.7 million for $20.9 million in costs. Dallas collected only $19.2 million for $32.2 million in costs.

A multimillionaire with a bad driving record was fined a record $290,000 for going 85 mph in a 35 mph zone in his red Ferrari Testarossa, according to a January 7, 2010, story in USA Today.

The fine is based on the unidentified speeder's wealth and his previous fast offenses. Swiss voters approved a penalty system that replaces prison for such crimes as speeding with "day fines" based on wealth — in this case $22.7 million.

The fine is more than double the previous record, doled out to a Porsche driver in Zürich in 2008. Half must be paid upfront, and the rest is linked to good behavior during a two-year suspended sentence.

"The accused ignored elementary traffic rules with a powerful vehicle out of a pure desire for speed," the court said.

The speed limit in St. Gallen, in eastern Switzerland, is 35 mph.

Swiss news media reported that the man owns a villa with five luxury cars, including the Ferrari. The U.K. Guardian says the speeder initially refused to appear in court, claiming that he was a diplomat from Guinea-Bissau and entitled to immunity and that his diplomatic plates had fallen off the car.

The court rejected both claims.

In the January 21-28, 2010, issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly, reporter Mike Easterling interviewed Councilor John Eagleton for his thoughts on the resolution, passed by the City Council on January 14, to lift the century-long ban on drilling for oil in the city limits of Tulsa:

District 7 City Councilor John Eagleton, who championed a proposal adopted by the council on Jan. 14 that lifts the city's 104-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling, laughed long and hard when asked the next day how long he thought it would be before the measure attracted any interest from exploration companies.

"I had lunch today with (a local oilman), and he asked about the status of the proposal," Eagleton said. "When I told him it passed last night, his exact words to me were, 'Do you have Mayor (Dewey) Bartlett's phone number?' "

Eagleton, who said the measure is long overdue, led the fight to get the moratorium lifted partly as a response to the city's budget crisis, which has led to layoffs, furloughs and reduced services in virtually every department.

Supporters of the ordinance believe the city--which is the mineral rights holder on a good deal of property that is expected to attract the interest of exploration companies--eventually could generate a revenue stream from possible drilling activity that would help ease its money problems.

Eagleton said the moratorium on drilling inside city limits that was adopted in 1906 was well advised. In those days, he said, drilling activity was toxic, and many wells literally were explosive.

But throughout the past century, that has changed, he said. He described the drilling business now as environmentally friendly and compatible with city life. He believes that the regulations included in the ordinance, which allows drilling on public and private land, will safeguard Tulsans against the kind of environmental abuses that frequently went hand in hand with the industry in the past.

"If I did not believe that, I would not have supported it," he said. "No one will have a well in their backyard against their wishes."...

Bartlett, Eagleton and Westcott all described the notion of lifting the moratorium as an outside-the-box idea, and they stressed the importance of that kind of thinking as the city continues to try to balance its budget in the face of declining sales tax revenue.

"It is. It's very creative," Westcott said of the idea, adding that it originated with a citizens committee chaired by Bartlett that was convened two years ago to develop ideas about how to repair the city's streets. "Councilor Eagleton deserves most of the credit for picking up the ball and running with it. But it is creative thinking, and we need more of it." ...

Eagleton recounted that the first dozen times or so he presented the idea of allowing drilling in the city to other elected officials, the response he got was scoffs and smirks.

Now, he's the one with a grin on his face.

"Asymmetrical thinking is what makes brilliant ideas work," he said, citing Post-it brand notes, the light bulb and the auto assembly line as other ideas that initially were regarded as goofy. "If you come up with an asymmetrical idea, stay after it."