A public safety sales tax election in Oklahoma County to help pay for a new jail is closer after the Board of County Commissioners voted Wednesday to receive the unanimous recommendation of the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board.
The commissioners did not act on the recommendation. Neither a tax special election date, nor other details have been developed.
It would not be the first-ever Oklahoma County sales tax, as previously reported. The county had a temporary 1% rate from Nov. 1, 1987, to Oct. 31, 1988, also for the jail, said David Francis, business registration manager and city/county services manager for the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
More work on jail financing needs to be done before commissioners take up another sales tax, said Myles Davidson, chairman of the board and District 3 commissioner.
“While there wasn’t an actionable item to send a sales tax referendum to the people, I expect the discussion to move forward soon,” he said. “My office is actively researching and developing a proposal to ensure we find the best path to fund the much-needed jail.
“It’s critical that we explore all options to address this issue in a responsible and effective manner for our county.”
A glance at financing for a new Oklahoma County jail
The Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board guides how Oklahoma County bond revenues are spent. The tax would partially bridge the huge gap between the $260 million bond issue approved by voters in 2022 for a new jail and the estimated $700 million or more that officials have said it will actually take.
That cost is in addition to the $44.4 million set aside for a Behavioral Care Center at the jail complex, paid for with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. Flintco LLC began work at 1901 E Grand Blvd., the jail site, earlier this month.
County officials continue research and negotiations with investment banks Raymond James Financial Inc., Morgan Stanley and Jefferies LLC regarding a possible “public-private partnership” with Oklahoma County that officials said could raise $450 million toward the jail.
Activists again assail OK County commissioners over jail issues
Before the commissioners voted, they took criticism, as usual, from detractors.
Mark Faulk, a regular critic, again denounced the plans for the jail and the commissioners themselves.
Jed Green, a candidate for the open District 1 seat vacated by Carrie Blumert when she quit last fall, said the state Legislature needs to step in and help pay for the jail.
Michael Washington, an activist who regularly harangues the commissioners, grew furious when not allowed to speak because he arrived too late to sign up to participate in the public comment period.
Activist: ‘Fix the Jail’ campaign in 2022 was a scheme
Faulk, alluding to the boulders the city of Oklahoma City has placed under a Western Avenue bridge to stop homeless people from gathering or camping, and calling it “hostile architecture,” said, “I would posit that building a bigger jail is the most hostile architecture of all.”
The commissioners and others promoting the jail have gone back on their word, said Faulk, with People’s Council for Justice Reform. They boasted in the lead-up to the 2022 bond election that a jail could be built from the bond proceeds with no new taxes.
The Fix the Jail campaign was a ruse with its pledge of a “new jail, no new taxes,” he said.
“Now we all knew that was a lie. We knew at the time that y’all didn’t have the money to build a jail,” Faulk said, reading aloud pledges against raising taxes made by commissioners and business leaders who were pushing the bond election.
Candidate: Oklahoma County leaders have ‘credibility issues’ on new jail financing
“Obvious credibility issues with what this (the way the new jail is being funded) is going to look like,” said Green, an independent who is running for the District 1 seat. The special primary election will be Feb. 11. Because an independent is in the race, the special general election will be April 1.
Green, a political consultant and founder of Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, faces Democrat Sara Bana, a Midwest City Council member; Democratic state Rep. Jason Lowe of Oklahoma City; and Democratic former state lawmaker Anastasia A. Pittman.
“When I hire a contractor,” Green said, “I give them money, they come back at a certain point of completion, I give them more money, they come back and they say we’ve … done nothing but we need more money, I might be calling the attorney general for fraud.
“I’m not saying that’s what happened here, but in the minds of the average Oklahoma County voters, that’s what we’re seeing. If the county voters feel that something has been jammed through (they are likely to oppose it).
Enraged activist calls OK County commissioners names and makes racism accusation
The flamboyant Washington, who has lambasted the commissioners for years, often waving his hat and launching outbursts like a lively preacher, was incensed when he missed the 9 a.m. deadline for signing up to speak at the speakers podium.
He spoke anyway, calling Davidson, who recently took over as chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, “the new idiot in town” and a “puppy,” and accused him of treating the First Amendment like “a piece of dog meat.”
“What’s this little boy’s name? Son, what you need to do … your mama ought to be ashamed of herself (for giving birth to Davidson),” Washington said.
He continued to walk around the board room, yelling at the commissioners as they concluded business, then interrupting when the commissioners opened the meeting of Public Building Authority.
Washington, who is Black, accused Davidson, or all the commissioners — it wasn’t clear — of being “white supremacists.”
“That’s what you are. You know, man. Don’t try to pretend you’re not,” he yelled.
Staff writer Richard Mize covers Oklahoma County government and the city of Edmond. He previously covered housing, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com, starting in 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com.
