Jail questions answered by county officials
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In an effort to clarify questions about the operation of the Sequoyah County Jail and the money to operate the jail, Your TIMES submitted questions asked by county residents to the various agencies involved, including the district attorney’s office and the Sequoyah County Criminal Justice Authority.

To keep the county jail open, county commissioners on Aug. 3, cut budgeted money for all county offices by 10 percent.

County commissioners will also decide at their next regular meeting on Monday if a special election on a half-cent sales tax for jail operations will be held Oct. 13.

The district attorney’s office replied to legal questions about jail operations, and members of Sequoyah County Criminal Justice Authority supplied answers about the jail’s money and budget.

The authority and Sequoyah County Commissioners turned over jail operations to Sheriff Ron Lockhart in July, but Lockhart pointed out he does not have enough money to operate the county jail either.

It is estimated county jail operations will cost about $850,000 a year. The sheriff’s budget is about $599,000 a year.

The following questions were submitted by Sequoyah County residents about the county jail.

—Can the money from the auctions of confiscated and forfeited property be used to fund jail operations?

—Answer: The district attorney’s office replied that money from auctions of confiscated and forfeited items, from guns the vehicles, is shared on a percentage basis with all those taking part in the investigations which lead to the forfeitures. The agencies which share the money may include the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, the District 27 Drug Task Force, the police agencies in every city and town in Sequoyah County, state law enforcement agencies such as the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Oklahoma park rangers and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife whose game wardens may have participated, and even federal agencies such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

The money from the auctions is designated to be used for the investigation and prosecution of illegal drug use and trafficking, but its use may also be left up to the agency’s director, such as Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart.

However, so little money is raised at the auctions and then shared with so many other agencies, the district attorney’s office said the amount given to the sheriff would not boost the budget for the county jail sufficiently to avert the money crisis to operate the jail.

—Please provide a detailed list of how the money was spent before the sheriff took over.

—The attached accounting of money spent to operate the county jail was provided by Dennis Fields of Gore. Fields is a retired Sallisaw police officer, served on the Gore School Board of Education and is a member of the Sequoyah County Criminal Justice Authority.

The accounting of expenses at the jail are for January to June 2009, and reveals that the most money was spent on salaries and inmate expenses. The most expensive inmate expense was for pharmaceuticals at $14,487.88.
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comments (9)
« chico_stilwell@yahoo.com wrote on Thursday, Aug 13 at 02:04 PM »
My questions have not been answered. Question 1: If there is no jail for them to run why is the jail authority still around? I have pretty good information that the jail will be returned back to the jail authority if the tax passes. Question 2: Why such a big increse in the amount of tax from the last vote? Question 3: If the tax is approved and the money is put in the sheriffs budget, account,etc.. can he fund the jail and then use the rest as he pleases, for such things as vehicles, employee pay hikes? It sounds to me that this is the same thing we voted to turn down but asked again with more at stake. Vote No
« bud.tate@yahoo.com wrote on Wednesday, Aug 12 at 01:35 PM »
My question has not be answered yet. My question is.....

WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS ELECTION????????

VOTE NO ....

NO MORE TAXES!!!!!!!!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
« http://twitter.com/N wrote on Tuesday, Aug 11 at 03:28 PM »
the media needs to get on them and ask they why everyweek there storie changes and why think the people of sequyoah couty are stupid there scare tatics well not work anyone know how much a billborad rents for i might rent one and have vote no put on it in big bold letters aand put there pics on there and say kick them out
« wolfman@sbcglobal.net wrote on Tuesday, Aug 11 at 12:59 PM »
So who's lying now, the commissioner or the sheriff. Now all of a sudden the cost to run the jail jas changed and a half cent sales tax is needed instaed of the one sixth they asked for.

All of them just keep making up excuses and lies about the budget and funding and because they conrinue to change their story from week to week, the taxpayers can't believe anthing they say. So come on people, let's we the taxpayers have the final say: VOTE NO MORE TAXES.
« starsatin12@hotmail.com wrote on Tuesday, Aug 11 at 12:35 PM »
It is wake up time people. Don't believe anything the elected officials are telling you. They themselves don't know what is going on so how can they tell anyone else what is going on. I smell a rat here and it is no ordinary rat. It is a big stinking, sneaky sewer rat. Don't let the elected officials insult your intelligence and make fools of you.

VOTE NO ON THE 1/2 CENT SALES TAX
« bud.tate@yahoo.com wrote on Tuesday, Aug 11 at 10:37 AM »
Here we go again. Read the article in today's Fort Smith paper. The elected officials have no idea what is going on or what they are doing. Lockhart is saying now that it cost 1.3 million dollars a year to operate the jail instead of the $850,000.00 a year they quoted earlier. They also decided to go ahead with the 1/2 cent tax increase election on Oct. 13.

VOTE NO NO NO ON THE 1/2 CENT SALES TAX INCREASE.
« chico_stilwell@yahoo.com wrote on Tuesday, Aug 11 at 09:47 AM »
Here are the questions that need to be asked. If the jail was turned back over to the sheriff why is there still a jail authority? Why an increase in the amount of tax asked for from the last election to now? If the item passes, can the sheriff, after funding the jail, dip his hands into that money and use it as he pleases? I think that they will give the jail back to the authority if the vote passes. Split the tax and ride off into the sunset. The sheriff has to get his hands on more money and this is their way of doing it. I think that if it was a vote for the amount in the last election, and for the jail alone, the vote would pass. I will not reward greed. Vote NO!
« wolfman@sbcglobal.net wrote on Tuesday, Aug 11 at 12:24 AM »
one week they are broke and can't pay the electric bill and the next week they are bragging on getting grants, buying new vehicles, repairing the roof on the courthouse, and spending a ridiculous amount of money for janitor service. They shoot themselves in the foot every week. VOTE NO!
« mesooners@yahoo.com wrote on Monday, Aug 10 at 02:24 PM »
this here is bull crap However, so little money is raised at the auctions and then shared with so many other agencies, the district attorney’s office said the amount given to the sheriff would not boost the budget for the county jail sufficiently to avert the money crisis to operate the jail.

lockheart made enough from the last one to go out and buy 2 brand new ford suv's that is money that could go toward the jail they didnt ask many ?'s did they like where is the money coming from for this election or why do we still have a jail authority when they dont have the jail to run what a cracker jack newspaper


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