Oklahoma County jail: What to know before the $260M bond vote June 28

Oklahoma County officials have pinned their hopes on a $260 million bond issue to replace the long-troubled county jail. And they don't appear to have a fallback plan if voters reject the proposal on June 28.

"I have been asked what is Plan B if this fails, and I tell everybody there is no Plan B," said District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan, chairman of the board. All three Oklahoma County commissioners are supporting the bond issue.

Meanwhile, a group in opposition continues to raise concerns about the bond vote and a new jail despite broad support from city and county officials, business and faith leaders for the proposal.

“It took us this many years to come up with a pragmatic proposal that everybody could get behind — from the community, corporate citizens and the elected officials — and it would take all of that coalition in order to be able to get the voters to approve it,” Maughan said.

Does the county need a new jail?

Oklahoma County residents will vote on the bond on June 28. The current Oklahoma County jail has a history of trouble dating back to its opening. Built at the end of the 1980s, the jail officially opened on Nov. 22, 1991. The facility experienced its first escape within weeks of opening.

The sheriff at the time, J.D. Sharp, voiced concerns over the design of the building, staffing and budget shortages for the jail that was designed to house 1,200 detainees. In recent years, problems have ranged from a large number of detainee deaths and failed health inspections to continued staffing issues and problems with contraband.

More: Woman accused of getting arrested so she could sneak fentanyl into Oklahoma County jail

“The original jail was only designed for it to last 25 to 30 years, according to oral history accounts that we've received,” Maughan said. “Even if it had been operated under the best of circumstances, it would be nearing the end of its shelf life.”

Design flaws continue to raise concerns in the jail today. Maughan said the facility's high-rise structure makes it "staff intensive" and creates a number of problems because of a dependence on elevators to carry employees, detainees, food, medication and more throughout the building. The building has three elevators, with no designated elevator for emergencies, medical or otherwise.

Related: Reports detail ongoing health and safety issues at Oklahoma County jail

While renovating the current jail was raised as a possible option, ultimately commissioners and consultants deemed renovations a poor choice due to the cost. This is in part because of the age and condition of the current building, but also because the facility was retrofitted with a medical unit on its 13th floor after originally being constructed without one.

"The medical unit just doesn't really ever have another functional place in this jail without major renovation that would be extremely costly and invoke a number of grandfathered code violations, which will no longer be left alone,” Maughan said. “We would have to upgrade to modern code, which is part of what makes it so cost prohibitive to move the medical from 13 down to any other lower floor.”

More: Frequency of fentanyl run-ins poses new concern for Oklahoma County Jail Trust

Additionally, there is little room for recreation, programming or diversion partners in the current layout. The jail is designed to operate at 100% maximum security, meaning every cell in the current building is meant for maximum-security detention. Meanwhile an estimated 80% or more of those being housed at the jail have not been tried or convicted of any crime.

Opposition to the bond and new jail

The cost of the jail, its size, the design firm used to create the proposal for the new facility and what opponents view as mismanagement of the current facility have all come under fire from area activists who say a bigger emphasis should instead be placed on criminal justice reform, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Holding a series of recent town halls, the group of residents — operating under the name the People’s Council for Justice Reform — advocated against voting for the bond to build the "new, bigger, billion-dollar jail."

"We want people to get the treatment they need — if they're drug addicts, if they're alcoholics — if we can get them treatment on demand," said Sean Cummings, a councilman in The Village and one of the organizers of the group. "If we have people that are in the jail that are nonviolent but can't afford bail, we would like to have some bail solutions."

The group gives a cost of more than $1 billion for the jail, however it is unclear how they calculated that figure. Repeatedly, they have pointed to the architect utilized for new jail designs, FSB Architects & Engineers, saying the firm "doubled the budget," when it renovated the state Capitol. The firm lists the cost of building the jail as proposed at about $297 million. Opponents appear to be factoring in the interest that would be paid on the bond package over its lifetime.

Additionally, group members, including resident Mark Faulk, cite the support of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber , which also runs the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council, as a reason for concern saying "the handful of billionaires" that control the chamber are behind pushing for the new jail.

Maughan said, "They certainly do have a role because public safety is directly tied to the economy and people don't want to live, work or worship in a place that they don't feel safe, and so this is essential for that, but I wouldn't say they had any greater role than, say, the clergy that we have seen organize.”

More: New jail to be recommended to Oklahoma County officials

Maughan said those "billionaires" are invested in positive outcomes for the community and could be spending their time and efforts elsewhere.

Jail bond supporters buy TV advertising

Several chamber members, including Tony Tyler, of Tyler Media, and Clayton Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder, are responsible for a support campaign called "Fix Our Jail," which has purchased over $50,000 in television advertising ahead of the vote.

Bennett has been an advocate for reforming the county's criminal justice system in addition to building a new jail for years. He recommended changes to mental health and substance use treatment in 2016, and efforts have expanded through the county's treatment courts and diversion partners.

However Maughan says the current facility lacks the resources to handle its role as the "de facto largest mental health facility in the state of Oklahoma," a title he says the jail doesn't want to carry, but simply falls into because of no other options.

“We can't really be surprised that we have so much recidivism when we know we’re not equipped to deal with the root cause of the problem,” Maughan said. "It's just been absolutely essential that we get some sort of a mental health component in this new facility that's more adequate to address those issues."

Still, opponents say the county could use the large amount of funding being discussed for mental health and substance use treatment facilities, transitional housing for the homeless and other community projects that might address some of those root causes.

County leaders point out that the new jail is set to have designated mental health treatment areas and more space for working with service providers for substance abuse and other issues, like homelessness. Oklahoma city's MAPS4 funding also is expected to open several mental health facilities, including crisis centers.

More: How a lack of data on who is in Oklahoma's jails and prisons hinders justice reform efforts

The People's Council for Justice reform also criticizes the jail trust's management of the current jail, saying that deaths have increased since they assumed control. In 2021, at least 15 people died while in the custody of the jail. Opponents say this increase is due to jail trust failures. However in 2016, while under the control of the Oklahoma County sheriff's office and before the establishment of the trust, at least a dozen deaths were recorded.

The trust, which assumed control in July 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has made improvements at the current facility, including reducing triple celling and repairing water, air and sewage systems, along with replacing outdated door locks to improve security. Opponents say the improvements are not enough.

More: Oklahoma County Jail reduces triple celling, COVID cases and state inmates

Critics have advocated in county meetings both for the sheriff's office to regain control and for the U.S. Department of Justice to assume control of the facility. Current sheriff, Tommie Johnson III, who serves on the jail trust, has said he does not want control in part because it takes focus away from the role of the sheriff's office to provide law enforcement throughout the county.

Maughan said the idea of the federal government taking over control of the jail likely would result in a new jail being built at burdensome costs to residents, with little local oversight, as well as an interruption in normal operation of county business.

“It doesn't come out of the existing budget or the federal budget, it is just a direct hand-down like a judgment on property rolls, in addition to their annual evaluations, so it's a seismic economic hit for the community,”  Maughan said. "There's no telling what a federal takeover might cost, but it will absolutely be an increase to the current evaluation that they're already paying on their annual property taxes.”

How does the bond work, and are there other options?

The current jail was funded by a temporary one-cent sales tax levied county-wide that ended in 1988. It cost the county $52 million and did not provide any contingencies for operating expenses outside of the county budget, despite being much larger than the previous facility, Maughan said. He said the new jail would have cost savings built into it through updated technology and materials used in its construction.

In 2015, commissioners approved a proposal for a new jail, to once again be funded by a one-cent sales tax. Oklahoma County does not have a sales tax, and efforts to implement sales taxes often face major opposition. Commissioners failed to send the 2015 proposal to a vote.

The proposed bond package is expected to allow the county to finance an estimated $260 million over its lifetime of the estimated $300 million required for the new jail. The bonds would renew expiring bonds at existing millage rates, allowing Oklahoma County taxpayers to avoid an increase to their property taxes.

More: West downtown development could skyrocket with relocation of Oklahoma County jail

Maughan said the remaining money is likely to come from working out how to use the county's coronavirus relief funding, which may include determining what other county projects it can legally be applied to in order to allow some general funds to be put toward the jail.

Bond approval would come with new citizens oversight panel

Commissioners also voted to establish a citizens oversight committee that is compulsory with approval of the bond. The committee would function similarly to those advising the MAPS processes in Oklahoma county to ensure transparency, according to commissioners.

"I feel confident in the plan that we're bringing before the voters that this is actually something that would bring a resolve to this 30-year-old problem,” Maughan said.

Voting information

All registered Oklahoma County voters will see the bond proposal on their ballot June 28. The last day to register to vote is June 3.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: June 28 bond vote to decide fate of new Oklahoma County jail