TULSA, Okla. — City leaders are squabbling over the budget, and one 40-year-old resource is on the chopping block: Tulsa County’s Early Settlement Center for Mediation.
It’s a program allowing Tulsa County residents to settle civil disputes out of court, free of any fees. It’s simpler, cleaner, and cheaper for everyone involved.
WATCH: FUNDING THREATENED: County's early settlement program could lose city money
“You never wanna shut down a program, that you rely upon citizen volunteers,” Terry Simonson, the program’s founder said.
Simonson designed it with cost-effectiveness in mind. The center employs two full-time staffers and one part-time staff member. Everyone else volunteers.
The proposed budget, Simonson said, won’t allocate the usual $48,000 to help fund the program. It’s worth noting, Tulsa County pays a share along with the city’s funds.
EXPLORE THE PROGRAM >>> Click here to see the center's website
“When I retired from my clinical medical practice, I was still teaching, but I had time to spare and I love doing volunteer work,” Norm Simon, M.D., a volunteer mediator, said.
Dr. Simon was never, has never, and will never be a lawyer, though he’s volunteered as a mediator for decades. Helping with thousands of cases along the way.
“Many of the clients that we do these mediations for are not of means financially, where many of them can’t or couldn’t afford an attorney,” Simon said.
Most civil lawsuits cost $10,000 or more.
Ned Dismukes, a lawyer and mediator, says all of that money and emotional hardship can be avoided through programs like early settlement.
“I think it’s a form of civility that’s sorely missing this day and age in our country,” Dismukes said.
“When you’re able to get two people that are fighting with each other to leave the room after the mediation … very friendly and very pleased, it’s very rewarding,” Dr. Simon said.
2 News asked the city for a statement. They sent this:
Tulsa Municipal Court has only been able to utilize the Early Settlement Mediation Program 1-3 times per year. Currently, the City of Tulsa is the only municipality in the county that contributes to the funding of the program with an annual cost of nearly $50,000. Given its low usage rate within our municipal court system and the imperative to optimize budgetary expenditures based on the financial situation of the City, the decision surrounding funding for the program in the FY26 proposed budget was made. Discussions regarding funding for the program continue and were discussed this week.
“Broadly, this adjustment is part of a strategic effort to prioritize essential services that directly impact the majority of Tulsa residents, and when funding adjustments are proposed, they only target the services that affect the least amount of people or cause the least amount of disruption.
The early settlement program has been on the chopping block before, always surviving. But what if this time – it finally loses money? That was the question asked of Simonson.
“What we would then do is send the city and the county to mediation, and say sit down, cool heads and we could work it out, I guarantee that,” Simonson said, partially joking.
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