Oklahoma County Justice Authority to vote on controversial CARES funding allotment
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A local organization will soon vote on a controversial allotment of funding for the Oklahoma County Jail.
On Monday afternoon, the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority could vote to accept $34 million in CARES Act money for COVID-19 response at the county jail.
For the past few weeks, protesters have been speaking out about $34 million in CARES Act money allocated to the Oklahoma County Jail Trust by the Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners for COVID-19 response at the jail.
Protesters feel the funds could be used elsewhere for a response to COVID-19 around the county.
Some county officials agree.
“I am not denying that dollars need to be put into that facility, there’s no question about it but it just has to be done correctly,” County Treasurer Butch Freeman told KFOR last week. “You will have federal auditors who will come in and we just want to be as prepared. We may make a wrong decision, but at least if we make a wrong decision, let’s make it for the right reasons.”
“My main issue is that the jail trust never requested this money and so for us to, in one fell swoop, move all of those CARES dollars over to the trust was inappropriate. An inappropriate use of the money, and the trust does not have a plan to spend the money,” Commissioner Carrie Blumert, District 1, said last week.
On Monday afternoon, the jail trust will meet and could vote to accept the money.
Trust chair Tricia Everest said during a public forum last week that she does not know if they can reject the funds.
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