Trevor Dorsey
Incumbent for Bartlesville Ward 5
Bio
Trevor Dorsey is the incumbent Ward 5 representative on the Bartlesville City Council and currently serves as vice mayor. He has represented Ward 5 since 2018.
Dorsey has nearly three decades of experience in banking and commercial lending. He currently serves as a senior lending officer and senior vice president for Prosperity Bank, working with commercial lending teams in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets. His career has included executive and market president positions with several banks in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including Equity Bank, Regent Bank and Central National Bank.
Dorsey earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southwest Baptist University in 1997 and graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University in 2008.
His current community involvement includes the Washington County Livestock Extension Board, Tri County Tech Foundation, Hopestone Cancer Foundation, Crime Stoppers and Bartlesville Education Promise. He is also a longtime YMCA youth coach.
Dorsey's previous community service includes serving as chairman of the Bartlesville Planning Commission, chairman of the Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce Board, chairman of the Nowata Chamber of Commerce Board and chair of the Bartlesville United Way's 2019 campaign. He is also a graduate of Leadership Bartlesville Class 24.
1. Why are you running
Why are you running for Bartlesville City Council, and what experience or perspective do you believe you would bring to the council?
I am running because I am committed to giving back to the city which I work, live and play. It is very important to both me and my family that we give back and each day work to be a benefit to our neighbors across the city, not just in ward 5. I want to continue the successful projection we have seen the past 10 years I have been involved with city government through planning commission and now city council.
2. Your top priorities
What are the three most important issues facing Bartlesville during the next five years? What specific actions should the City Council take to address them?
Water has been a top priority for the 12 years my family have been residents of Bartlesville. The city has worked for 10+ years with our federally and state elected officials as well as multiple governors to obtain additional water recourses or rights for the times when we have experienced drought, which has been with more regularity than expected in recent years. Great strides have been made and I feel confident that in the very near future the additional water rights/accesses needed for times of drought will be obtained and it will be beneficial to all parties in said agreement(s). Outside of water we need to continually be fiscally sound and maintain a balanced budget, keeping our retirement planning and rainy day fund at levels needed, while retaining and recruiting top talent in staffing all departments within the city government.
3. Endeavor 2045
Bartlesville adopted the Endeavor 2045 comprehensive plan following a community planning process. Which parts of the plan should receive the highest priority during your term, and are there portions you believe should be changed, delayed or reconsidered?
City code was a vital part of this plan, and we are still in the end processes of finishing up this part in 2026. This will allow us to be more proactive and less reactive with existing and new business opportunities. I believe the group of business and industry leaders devised to undertake this 2045 plan were very diverse and very engaged in the community prior to and throughout the process of the development and inception of the plan. All involved did a wonderful job constructing the 2045 and it was approved and is good as it currently stands with no need for revisions or change.
4. Jobs and economic development
Bartlesville has long depended on major employers including Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips. What should the city do to diversify the local economy, attract employers and create or retain well-paying jobs? What role should the Bartlesville Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce play?
There has never been a better opportunity (in my lifetime) to bring in new industry with the tax structure and economic environments of some surrounding states. Our BDA and Chamber have been integral in helping promote, recruit and expand both existing and new business expansion throughout the community. The city through the BDA have worked to incentivize both existing and new business expansion through various economic platforms. Once that has driven new residents is the housing incentive both for rent and home purchase and I believe this will continue to help see us increase great families choosing Bartlesville. The expansion of ABB over the past year, along with new employers Blue Whale and Lincoln Electric have advanced the need for housing and retail.
5. City spending and taxes
When balancing the city budget, where do you believe Bartlesville should spend more, spend less or maintain current spending? Are there city services or programs you would eliminate or significantly reduce?
We have invested greatly in our park system and pathway since I have been a resident of Bartlesville (2014) and I believe now we have the opportunity to maintain our parks and shift funds to get our 250 mile of road infrastructure to the level the citizens want to see. We have focused on roads the past two bond cycles and have made great progress in catching up on the roads. I would love to see additional funds be captured within the budget for city ride, as I feel it would help keep stability and continuity with the work and success in homelessness, as well as our aging population that may no longer have the ability to drive. I believe the existing programs we have in place have all proved to be valuable and don’t see a current need to cut anything out of the budget.
6. Public safety cameras and privacy
What is your position on Bartlesville's use of automated license plate reader cameras? How should the city balance law enforcement benefits with residents' concerns about privacy, data retention and government surveillance?
I believe that ALPR technology is a very valuable tool for BPD to provide safety to not only our city, but the surrounding area as well. We adopted a very good protocol when these cameras came on line, thus we have not seen nor had issues like some municipalities across the country have seen. As we move forward there will be additional steps and protocols we can and will adopt to alleviate concerns regarding the expanding of this technology/software. We have seen multiple cases where this was vital in helping our men and women in blue and across the country there have been thousands of underage children saved from abuse situations, due to this technology.
7. City manager and council roles
What do you believe is the proper relationship between the City Council and city manager? Where should council oversight end and the city manager's authority over day-to-day operations begin?
Council should provide oversight much like a corporate board of directors. Our role should be to make sure the budget is balanced and all tools and resources are available for the success of all divisions of our city governments success. The city manager should be tasked with running the day to day operations of the city, without the micro management of the council. Bartlesville is blessed to have a very deep bench of steady and long term leadership within our directors group, thus it is vital that we help provide and keep continuity throughout the city department staffing.
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