— City councilors decided to maintain Muskogee’s membership with a statewide organization made up of Oklahoma municipalities despite widespread criticism.

Questions about Oklahoma Municipal League membership surfaced this past year because of costs and the organization’s apparent neglect of mid-size cities.

With the appointment of City Manager Greg Buckley to the organization’s legislative committee, concerns about the latter dissipated. As a result, councilors decided to maintain the city’s OML membership for at least one more year.

Vice Mayor Robert Perkins, who has served on the City Council nearly two decades, said he has no trust in the statewide organization. Perkins said he could cite no benefits the city has received in exchange for its membership dues that total nearly $30,000 this year.

“They’ve never been involved with small- and medium-sized towns,” Perkins said, noting that the larger metropolitan areas get all the attention. “I just don’t have the trust in them I should have with all the years I’ve been involved with them.

Perhaps one of OML’s most important roles, according to supporters of the membership-based organization, is its lobbying efforts in the Oklahoma Legislature. That factor, along with Buckley’s appointment to the organization’s lobbying arm, tilted the scale in favor of continued membership.

“I’m not one someone who’s going to beat the drum for OML, but I think we ought to give it a year to see what Mr. Buckley can do on that board,” Ward IV Councilor Kenny Payne said. “I looked into the costs of having a lobbyist, and $30,000 is not that much.”

Mayor John Tyler Hammons said having a voice for the city in the Legislature is a benefit. But he questioned whether OML is best suited to be an advocate for Muskogee. Hammons has said he would recommend hiring private lobbyists should the city end its relationship with OML.

“Absent his (Buckley’s) influence, is this (membership) still worth the investment?” Hammons said during the recent City Council meeting.

While officials see some benefit in OML’s lobbying efforts, city employees have criticized the organization. OML was instrumental in the repeal of a law that protected collective bargaining rights for non-uniform employees.

Upon repeal, Muskogee’s elected officials decided to let the city’s contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2465 expire.

The decision, which was announced without public discussion, sparked a firestorm of criticism. In the aftermath, city councilors approved an ordinance providing non-uniform employees an opportunity to reorganize. Labor supporters say the ordinance is weighted in favor of city administrators and ignores nearly 40 years of contract negotiations.

OML, which has been criticized for its apparent lack of transparency about how it spends taxpayer-funded dues, has its sights set this year on reforming police and firefighter pension systems. It has been meeting with lawmakers since October looking at possible reforms.

According to the organization’s website, OML officials believe municipal employers have had to pay a disproportionate share of the contributions into the pension systems.

Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.