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
Budget Board Members
ISSUES AT HAND
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
5/2019 Jail 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 Sheriff submitted his resignation from Jail Trust & CJAC (Criminal Justice Advisory Council). However, the Sheriff can’t actually resign from the Trust, so the effect of this was more along the lines of “I disagree with this whole deal so I’m not going to attend meetings any longer, and in my place our general counsel will be attending as my proxy.”
11/??/19 Trust hired jail administrator hired
1/29/20 BOCC votes to contract with Jail Trust for management of the jail
7/1/20 Date that the Trust officially assumed mgmt of jail
8/13/20 Budget 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 BOCC 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 Jail 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 Jail Trust voted 4-2 to not honor ICE detainers, however, the
