OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma County voters will settle the future of the county jail in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, when a four-tenths-of-a-cent sales tax to finish and operate a new detention campus goes before them.
It is the second time county residents have been asked to put tax money toward a new jail. A 2022 bond issue raised $260 million, but commissioners say steep construction inflation after the pandemic pushed the price past $800 million. Critics accept that building costs climbed but argue the jump was nowhere near threefold.
The tax would run for 25 years and add 40 cents to each $100 in purchases. It is expected to raise roughly $70 million a year. About $44 million of that would cover debt payments, and the remaining $26 million would go to operations, including diversion and mental health programs.
A yes vote backs the new campus already under construction at 1901 E. Grand Blvd. in southeast Oklahoma City, which would sit alongside the county Behavioral Care Center. A no vote leaves the county with the 35-year-old downtown jail tower at 201 N. Shartel Ave.
District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan said the earlier bond money pays for a first phase of about 400 beds, while the jail now averages around 1,600 people a day, so the full 1,800-bed plan is needed. District Attorney Vicki Behenna also supports the tax and has said about 85% of people held in the jail are awaiting trial. Opponents, including the People’s Council for Justice Reform, say the county should not get more money after telling voters the bond would be enough.
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Filed under: Oklahoma City OK Politics News
