OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma County Commissioner Jason Lowe is pushing for a state audit of the jail trust’s finances after Oklahoma County Detention Center officers received pay raises that were not approved by the jail trust board, even as the county faces what Lowe described as a major budget shortfall tied to the jail.
Lowe said that Jim Holman, chairman of the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority, provided pay increases to employees at the detention center.
Lowe said detention officers need raises, but the jail cannot afford them right now due to the financial situation.
“It seems like in this building, we have a culture of just bad decision-making. From moving forward with a project we don’t have funds to complete, or hiring, or I should say, giving raises to over 100 individuals,” Lowe said during the County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday.
Lowe also reiterated his opposition to moving forward with the construction of a new jail and to using JUUL settlement funds to help close the jail’s major funding gap, citing the size of the funding gap.
“I’ve said time and time again, we do not have the funds to move forward with building or constructing a new jail. We are short approximately $500 million. It does not make economic sense to move forward with construction when we don’t have the funds to pay for it. Period,” Lowe said.
A letter obtained by FOX 25 shows that the chairman of the Criminal Justice Authority board approved the pay increase with the jail administrator, Tim Kimrey.
The letter was written days after the board denied the raises. Lowe said the action was outside Holman’s authority.
“The board, which is the trust, voted against a pay raise and the chairman unilaterally provided a pay raise, which is outside the scope of his authority,” Lowe said.
Lowe said that is why he is proposing a state audit of the jail trust’s financing.
He also said the district attorney’s office has already reached out to the attorney general for an opinion, and Lowe said he will wait for the attorney general’s opinion before moving forward.
“I want to figure out where our taxpayer money is being spent. We deserve for those answers, those questions to be answered. The public deserves those answers,” Lowe said.
Beyond the audit request, Lowe said the jail trust should be dissolved.
“The jail trust should dissolve itself. It has not been effective based on unilateral raises, based on budget deficits. We need to move forward from a jail trust. The idea was great, but it served its usefulness,” Lowe said.
Lowe said a public town hall is scheduled for March 23 at Ebenezer Baptist Church and will address several of the topics discussed during the commissioners meeting.
For more local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.