Cleveland County Commissioners recently have created a trust to finance and operate the county’s new jail to be constructed on Franklin Road, east of U.S. Highway 77.
Records indicate a new public trust — the Cleveland County Justice Authority — was created by a unanimous vote on Tuesday, Oct. 9, during a regular commission meeting.
“A resolution...establishing the Cleveland County Justice Authority as an Oklahoma Public trust, accepting the beneficial interest in the Cleveland County Justice Authority created by a trust indenture for and on behalf of Cleveland County, Oklahoma,” county records show.
The justice authority joins at least two other county trusts, including public facilities authority and the home loan authority. The county also has “two or three other trusts” which are inactive, county bond attorney Glenn Floyd, said.
Trustees for the authority are the county’s three commissioners: Rusty Sullivan, George Skinner and Rod Cleveland
Sullivan will serve as chair of the new trust, while Skinner will serve as vice-chairman. Denise Ellison, an administrative assistant in the commissioner’s office, was named as secretary and county employee Brenda Wakeman will serve as assistant secretary.
Floyd said the trust was necessary because county officials plan to fund the new jail with revenue bonds.
“Those revenue bonds could be issued over a long period of time, maybe 30 year bonds,” he said.
The county’s current jail — located downtown — was built with ad valorem tax revenue. But that option, Floyd said, probably wouldn’t fly with county voters for the new facility.
“The consensus that I’ve gotten from the commission over the last three or four years is that they feel that there’s too many people against it,” he said.
That feeling apparently extends to members of the commission itself.
Earlier this year, during his campaign for the District 1 seat, commissioner Rod Cleveland’s platform included the statement “no new ad valorem tax increases.”
However, with costs for the jail being estimated in the $20 to $50 million range, county officials say they must have the ability to raise revenue for the facility.
“For a county, without having a general obligation election, the only way to finance a new jail is to have an authority that issues debt,” Floyd said.
By creating the trust, Floyd said, the county had “a mechanism for issuing long term debt that’s payable from a revenue stream other than ad valorem taxes.”
Those funds could come from the county’s general fund or from a sales tax, he said.
A sales tax increase would require a public vote.
“If they decide to finance (the jail) with sales tax backed issue, there would be a vote of people,” Floyd said.
However, the amount needed for the jail and the way those funds will be raised has yet to be decided.
Currently, county officials are working with Norman architect Ben Graves to finalize the jail’s design. Graves and members of his committee said earlier they hoped to have the jail’s design completed by mid-November.
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