The election will most likely be Oct. 13. County commissioners are expected to officially call for the election on the proposed sales tax at their regular meeting Monday.
At Tuesday’s special meeting Lockhart reported on a study he had done, and determined that, if he had to operate the county jail, both the sheriff’s office and the jail would be broke within six months.
Sheriff compares costs
If the jail is closed, Lockhart told the standing-room only crowd at the meeting, his budget of $599,000 per year would be stripped. He said the cost to operate the sheriff’s department is $55,000 a month, or $660,000 a year.
The additional costs for fuel and manpower to transport prisoners would be $16,000 a month, or $192,000 a year.
The cost to house prisoners in other jails would be about $27 times a day, times 80 inmates, which is $66,960 a month or $803,520 a year.
The total estimated cost would be $1,655,530 if the jail were closed.
He added, “Closing the jail would mean that 60 percent of the deputies would be out of the county transporting prisoners to and from court, not to mention the extra miles placed on the high-mileage vehicles.”
The county would then have about 40 percent of the deputies patrolling and answering call in the county.
The sheriff’s department would need an estimated $1,300,000 he said.
“By closing the jail the sheriff’s department would be out of funding in three months,” he said.
If the county jail is turned over to the sheriff to operate, Lockhart said, the cost to operate the jail will be $112,931 a month, or $1,355,172 a year.
The combined cost of the sheriff’s department and jail will be $2,015,172. The county has a total budget of about $2 million, county commissioners have said in the past, not including road money, which is dedicated to roads and cannot be used for anything else.
The sheriff’s total budget and income from a one-sixth of a cent sales tax for jail operations is $959,000 a year. That means the sheriff will need an additional $1,056,172 to operate the jail and sheriff’s department.
“These figures are actual costs from the sheriff’s department and the average costs from the jail from January to June 2009,” the sheriff said.
Lockhart continued, “by combining the sheriff’s department and the jail we could save revenue by cross training employees. I feel we can save around $75,000 a year and possibly even more. We still must meet all state jail standard rules. By cutting the current jail costs by $80,000 that sill leaves us in the red by $956,000,” Lockhart read from a prepared statement.
“With the current sales tax and what the sheriff’s department’s planned budget, we will be able to operate for six months unless the county commissioners find additional funding.”
John David Luton, first assistant district attorney, has pointed out that by closing the county jail the county will lose the one-sixth of a cent sales tax approved by voters to operate the jail. If the jail is run by the sheriff, the sales tax will remain.
“The only way we can make the jail self supportive is with an additional sales tax,” Lockhart said. “If we don’t get the additional funding the sheriff’s department and jail will be out of money in six months. (The) one-half cent sales tax increase will bring in an estimated $90,000 a month or $1,080,000 a year, which would be enough to make the jail self supportive.”
County residents turned down a one-sixth of a cent sales tax for the jail and a one-sixth of a cent sales tax for the sheriff’s office on June 9.
Lockhart said he would be willing to take over the county jail if there is no other alternative.
But he told the commissioners that if he did take over the jail, “I want your backing.
“I don’t have adequate funding. I’m going into it with half the money I need. I’m having to step up to the plate, and I’m happy to,” Lockhart said. “I think we can cut costs by about $110,000 a month. But the jail should be self supporting and it never has been. I will do my part to run the jail, but I’ve got to have you’re help.”
County cuts report
District 2 Commissioner Steve Carter said he had done a study on cutting the county budget. A 10 percent cut would take $231,000 from the county budget for the jail. A 20 percent cut would pull $462,000 from the county budget for the jail.
Liability and employee health insurance could also be cut, but that is too dangerous, Carter said.
Cutting liability insurance would leave the county open to lawsuits which, if the plaintiff wins, would put the entire award in a sinking fund, which means the county’s property owners would have to pay the bill through their ad valorem taxes.
Health insurance has risen from several hundred dollars over the past few years, and went up again in January by $60, Carter said, to $437.99 per employee. Now the federal government is considering legislation which requires that health insurance be provided by the employer.
“We can pay the insurance or pay the fine,” Carter said.
“I don’t believe cutting the insurance is an option,” he added.
And “If you don’t have liability insurance you’re in trouble,” District 1 Commissioner Bruce Tabor added.
“It is not feasible to cut everything in county government, down to the bare bones, to run the county jail,” he said.
Sales tax proposed
Lockhart said, “The bottom line is you’re going to have to have a sales tax.”
Sallisaw now has a sales tax of 9.417 percent. An additional half-cent sales tax would increase that tax to 9.917.
Associate District Judge A.J. Henshaw said that jail operating expense has been a problem every since he has been on the bench, and, he added, people he has talked with have said they want a stand-alone jail, or one that is not supported by housing inmates for the state or other counties.
The county’s jail financial problems began when the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) began pulling prisoners out and placing them in other or new facilities. The DOC was paying the county $31.50 a day to house low-risk prisoners, and at one time the county jail had 38 DOC prisoners, which boosted the jail budget. Now the jail has only 13 DOC prisoners, not enough to cover operating costs. Carter has said the many other counties are facing the same problem.
State Rep. Glen “Bud” Smithson (S-Sallisaw) said it was his understanding that the DOC planned not to house prisoners in county jails any more, and the county should not depend on that budget boost.
“The half-cent sales tax is the only answer,” Smithson said.
Tabor concurred. “A half-cent tax means we won’t have to house other’s prisoners.”
Smithson said, “We need to go to the public. It’s a shame that crime costs half at least of the county’s budget. We need to step up and spearhead this…as quick as possible.”
Court Clerk Vicki Beaty pointed out, “Everyone’s got to step up if they want to keep their jobs.”
Directing county money to jail operations will “devastate” the county budget, Tabor has said in the past, and will result in many county employees losing their jobs.
Facing the future
Immediately after the meeting Lockhart was told he had to pay an $18,000 bill for workman’s compensation for jail employees. That bill is due every six months, he was told.
At the end of July county jail accounts have a little over $8,900.
Lockhart commented he already had promises of between $6,000 and $10,000 to pay for the election. The county cannot pay for the election, which will cost about $15,000, Kathy Webb, Sequoyah County Election Board secretary said.
Linda Dobbs, commission secretary, began working on the election resolution immediately, and said it would most likely be on the commissioners’ agenda Monday. The district attorney will write the resolution.
