The Oklahoma City Council meets at 8:30 a.m. Tuesdays on the third floor of City Hall, 200 N Walker Ave., and live broadcasts are available on Cox Channel 20, www.youtube.com/cityofokc/live and www.okc.gov. A recording of each meeting is then added to the City's YouTube channel.

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The Council met Tuesday at the Cox Convention Center for a workshop kicking off the budget adoption process for fiscal year 2016, which begins July 1. The budget workshop provides an update of the general economic outlook from the global to local level, and projections on how the City's revenue and expenses will evolve over the next several years.

The Council will consider the budget during a series of meetings beginning in May, with adoption set for June 16, 2015.

The Council resumes its normal meeting schedule next Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Economist: Long-run strengths a benefit to City

Russell Evans, executive director of the Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute at Oklahoma City University's Meinders School of Business, updated the Council on forces affecting the global, national and local economies. The recent volatility in oil and gas prices poses uncertainties in the Oklahoma City area, but long-term indicators of local strength could help the City weather the effect of a short-term challenge to the energy sector.

Modest growth expected for City revenue

The City should see revenue growth of about 2 percent in the next fiscal year, but the modest gains are accompanied by increasing expenses in some Departments, City Finance Director Craig Freeman and Budget Director Doug Dowler told the Council. A challenge facing the Council in the coming years is managing future expenses like the MAPS 3 Downtown Public Park and Modern Streetcar operating costs and Police and Fire personnel and technology needs.

• Download the presentations. (PDF)
• Read the Five-Year Forecast. (PDF)
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