VOTE NO ON NOV. 3

Oklahoma County is asking voters to approve a 25-year sales tax to fund the building and staffing of a new jail and related facilities. This proposal commits too much of your money without adequately answering the questions that matter.

0.40%

Proposed Additional Sales Tax

25 Years

Proposed Duration

April 1, 2027

Proposed Start Date

this is not a jail fix!

At the end of the day, the county’s sales tax proposal will not fix the problems with the jail. The issues have never been just about the building—policy choices, staff violence, and deferred maintenance are not things that a new jail would fix.

This is a bad investment.

The county doesn’t have a plan. They can’t even account for all of the money they have currently. You wouldn’t invest in a business without a plan, so why should we collectively spend the better part of a billion dollars without a plan?

Enough is enough. No more jail taxes.

The county has a track record of wasteful spending, corruption, and poorly developed facilities. They told us that if we approved a $260 million dollar tax that they would build a jail and we would be safer. Now they want $600 million more, and it’s the same empty promise of future safety. This jail is shaping up to be another massive boondoggle, and it doesn’t deserve our dollars.

Inhumane Living Conditions: New Jail, Same Problems

The county loves to point at the conditions as a reason to build the new jail. What they never mention is that our current jail was new not that long ago. How did conditions get so dire? Poor planning, poor building, and poor maintenence. This new jail suffers from all three. In addition to having no plan, alarm bells are ringing about flooding and drainage at the new jail site. The county is pretending everything is fine. And when it’s built, they have no plan to maintain it long-term. A fraction of the money paired with good policy decisions could go a long way toward addressing the conditions at the current jail, but this was never about the conditions. That’s just a narrative.

This Vote Would Further Punish Poverty

Why is this a sales tax and not a property tax? Because the wealthiest folks in Oklahoma County own the most property. Those who don’t own property spend more of their money on transactions with a sales tax. 80% of people in the jail are legally considered innocent, but can’t afford bail. What does this all mean? Ending cash bail would materially improve conditions in the jail overnight. The county would rather use a backwards tax to build a bigger jail so they can keep locking up more working class Oklahomans.

timeline of events

1991

Current jail opens

We were told it was “state of the art” and would fix all our problems. In reality, the county cut corners and managed construction poorly, resulting in an immediate problematic building.

2003

Chaos at the jail

DOJ began formally investigating civil rights violations at the jail. Voters rejected a tax to fund jail operations. The county formed a taskforce to plan building a "criminal justice center," but decided voters wouldn't support it. They shifted focus from maintaining the jail to trying to building a new one.

2008

DOJ formally investigates

The five-year investigation found that the county failed to provide reasonable protection from harm; constitutionally-required mental health care services; adequate housing, sanitation and environmental protections; and protection from serious fire-safety risks.

2009

doj memorandum of understanding

The county signed the MOU stating their intent to fix the problems outlined in the 2008 findings. One month later, they hired FSB and HOK to start planning a new new jail. Out of all of the problems addressed in the MOU, the building is the only one that has received sustained, meaningful focus from the county.

2015

CJAC founded, Vera report

The Criminal Justice Advisory Council, funded by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, was established to give recommendations about the jail. They commissioned Vera Institute of Justice to create a report and provide further recommendations.

2019

The Jail Trust is Created

The Jail Trust was formed in an attempt to increase transparency and accountability for the jail. The county transferred jail operations from the Sheriff to the Jail Administrator, who reports to the Jail Trust, who answers to the County. This move has struggled to consistently deliver better conditions, and the Jail Trust has continued to echo the building-blame narrative at times.

2022

$260,000,000 Jail bond Passes

With the support of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, a $260 million bond passed after the county said it would (once again) “fix the jail.” They knew it was not enough to fix the jail or build a new one.

2024

Arpa snafu → "Behavioral Care Center"

The county intended to use American Rescue Plan Act dollars to fund the new jail, but the federal government said they could not. The county introduced the “behavioral care center” to use ARPA money. This center is only accessible after someone is arrested, and if they do not comply with the court-ordered treatment, they will be sent back to jail. It's less of a mental health facility and more of a creative jail-funding strategy.

2024

location and land use objections

County commissioners approved land purchase for the jail and “behavioral care center.” Oklahoma City denied zoning after Del City threatens a lawsuit over its proximity to a school and neighborhood. The county, with the support of the Oklahoma Attorney General, overrode the zoning and move forward anyway.

2025

New Administration

Tim Kimrey began working to fix the jail’s infrastructure, stating his primary problem is staff retention. He also publicly stated that the jail is the “largest mental health hospital in the state” and advocated for diversion.

2026

Jail tax proposal on the ballot

This paragraph could say that voters vetoed this overreach by the county, but only if we make it so.

So, what is a real Fix?

Demand the county re-focus on keeping people out. There is no one solution to this problem, and the people who say the tax and new jail will fix everything are lying to you, but there are several steps we should take immediately.

The DA needs to keep people out of jail.

District Attorney Vicki Behenna and her office have not lived up to campaign promises, and are significant barriers to keeping people out of jail in the first place. We invite you to contact her and tell her you want more diversion and faster releases from jail.

Judges need to do better.

Judges do not give bail hearings or bail amounts that consider people’s circumstances.

Police need to arrest less.

OKCPD consistently bring the most people to the jail. Fewer arrests would go a long way in the fight against overcrowding.

We need to end cash bail.

Cash bail does not keep us safer. It does create greater strain on our systems, and results in significantly higher pre-trial detention numbers. Illinois safely implemented major pre-trial reforms that could serve as a model.

We need to stop focusing on the building in isolation.

The building is one of many challenges. We must divert and decarcerate first, before building. It's crucial for us to come up with a plan that doesn’t result in more people in jail.

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