Local

Battle over how to fund juvenile justice center, jail expansion heats up

All concerned agree the Juvenile Justice Center must be replaced and the county jail expanded, but there's serious disagreement about how to pay for the projects.

Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel tells KRMG the county has a surplus of money left over from Vision 2025, and while it might require a ballot initiative, he thinks that money could be repurposed.

"I don't think there's any dispute any more, even though I've been saying it for three or four years, that we have a surplus. So let's put it to use for our highest priorities to the citizens, and to me that's curing the concerns at the jail and creating an appropriate juvenile justice center," he said.

"It looks like it would probably take a vote of the people to do that," he added. But, "to go out there and raise the taxes arbitrarily is wrong. We need to let that tax just expire for the City of Tulsa and every place else -- it already has in the rest of the county -- so what they're putting out there in front of the people is a tax increase."

But County Commissioner Karen Keith counters that Yazel is wrong, on several counts.

"First of all, it's not a new tax," she told KRMG, "it's .067 that's part of the existing tax. Number one. Number two, we can't access that money until like 2017. He knows that, he knows darn good and well that we can't even access that money until 2017, it does not help us. And as you know, we have some immediate needs at both the jail and the juvenile center, and Ken has acknowledged that. But this is just part of his schtick, he knows that what's he's touting is absolutely not going to work."

Yazel counters by saying the county wants to have its cake, and eat it, too.

"If we allow them to go out there and raise new taxes, they're going to have this $110 million dollars to do as they wish in 2025, and the taxpayers are paying more sales tax to do the high priority stuff."

Keith questions his numbers -- she says the actual overage will be closer to $36.5 million.

But whatever the amount, she says, the money belongs to the cities of Tulsa County, not to the county.

And in any case, she stresses, that money wouldn't be available for years, and the need is urgent.

Listen

news

weather

traffic

mobile apps

Everything you love about krmg.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!