OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — With less than two weeks before Election Day, Oklahoma County residents packed into the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library in Oklahoma City on Thursday to ask how a proposed jail sales tax would be spent.
On the Nov. 3 ballot, voters will decide on a 0.4% countywide sales tax that would run for 25 years. County officials say the money would close a gap in construction funding for a new jail and help pay to run the jail and a behavioral health center.
The price of the project has grown well beyond what voters first approved. A $260 million bond was passed for the new jail, but recent estimates have reached as high as $800 million. County Assessor Larry Stein blamed inflation after the pandemic and noted that the county has no dedicated countywide sales tax for jail operations while its budget is shrinking.
Commissioners voted 2-1 in August to send the measure to voters. A county bond advisory board had suggested limits, including keeping extra construction costs under $605 million and capping the jail at 1,800 beds, but those guidelines do not appear on the ballot. Commissioner Brian Maughan has said state law restricts how much detail the county can put on the ballot itself.
An implementation plan approved alongside the tax puts the new jail first but also funds existing facility operations plus diversion and behavioral health programs.
The Neal Center for Justice, which hosted the town hall, said it is not taking a side on the tax and wants a clear accounting of money already approved. Earlier in the week, the group and the Sooner State Party said they would seek a citizen grand jury to look into the jail project. Some residents at the meeting said they plan to vote no until the county shows a firmer plan.
Section: More Oklahoma City OK politics news
Filed under: Oklahoma City OK Politics News
