Timeline of Shenanigans in Oklahoma County Government
The past year has brought numerous challenges for government at all levels, and that includes the county level. Oklahoma County, in particular, has repeatedly made headlines for decisions regarding the county jail, what they're doing (or not doing) with federal CARES funds, and their relationship with the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. It's a complicated mess, and so we're joined by County Commissioner Carrie Blumert to walk through who all the players are and a timeline of events.
Board of County Commissioners Members
- Commissioner Carrie Blumert
- Commissioner Brian Maughn
- Commissioner Kevin Calvey
- Tricia Everest (chair)
- Sue Ann Arnall, attorney & philanthropist
- Francie Ekwerekwu, assistant public defender & law professor
- Ben Brown, former state senator
- Commissioner Kevin Calvey
- Sheriff P.D. Taylor
- Todd Lamb, former Lt. Governor
- Jim Couch, former OKC City Manager
- M.T. Berry, former OKC Police Chief
Budget Board Members
- Commissioner Kevin Calvey (chair)
- Commissioner Carrie Blumert
- Commissioner Brian Maughn
- County Treasure Butch Freeman
- County Clerk David Hooten
- County Court Clerk Rick Warren
- County Assessor Larry Stein
- Sheriff PD Taylor
ISSUES AT HAND
- ICE holds - the jail notifies ICE before inmates are released and will continue to hold individuals for up to 48 hours if ICE wants to take them into custody. The Jail also provides office space for ICE agents inside the jail. (Or they used to; we\u2019ll talk about that)
- CARES funds - federal funding designed for various covid-19 relief programs
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
5/2019\t\tJail Trust created to oversee the management and financial activity of the jail. Prior to the Trust, the County Sheriff was responsible for managing the county jail.
8/31/19\t\tSheriff submitted his resignation from Jail Trust & CJAC (Criminal Justice Advisory Council). However, the Sheriff can\u2019t actually resign from the Trust, so the effect of this was more along the lines of \u201cI disagree with this whole deal so I\u2019m not going to attend meetings any longer, and in my place our general counsel will be attending as my proxy.\u201d
11/??/19\tTrust hired jail administrator hired
1/29/20\t\tBOCC votes to contract with Jail Trust for management of the jail
7/1/20\t\tDate that the Trust officially assumed mgmt of jail
8/13/20\t\tBudget Board voted 5-3 to move $36M of CARES dollars to the Jail Trust. County Treasure Butch Freeman questioned if this was a legal use of CARES funds.
8/19/20\t\tBOCC voted to move $34M in CARES dollars to Jail Trust. The issues was listed as item #22 on the agenda but it was moved up and the vote was called for before Commissioner Blumert was even seated.
8/31/20\t\tJail Trust voted to accept $37M in federal CARES dollars - $3M for airflow at the jail and another $34M for yet-undetermined expenditures. Members of the public were there, gave comment, and were not happy with the vote.
9/21/20\t\tJail Trust voted 4-2 to not honor ICE detainers, however, the