New Jail Pact- Deadline Looms

[carltonplace]

I certainly don't want the city to be "beholding" to the county. Sorry we've taken so much for free. If it's time to end the agreement or contract and go our seperate ways then so be it. I hope the county has a great life with its new partner(s) after we go our seperate ways. I wish it nothing but the best.

We'll always treasure the time we've but it's time to move on with our lives.

Really, it's not you..it's me.

[carltonplace]

Here we go, the gloves are off. The city/county relationship has officially disintegrated and it sure looks like spite to me for Tulsans approving a street improvement plan that includes taking over the county's 4-2-fix sales tax when it expires:

Tulsa World Article
Jail authority approves billing city for inmate charge

By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 12/19/2008  11:45 AM
Last Modified: 12/19/2008  11:45 AM

The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority on Friday authorized invoicing the city of Tulsa for the $54.13 per inmate daily charge that is the focus of a lawsuit filed by the city against Tulsa County.
The authority's decision was made following an executive session, during which Mayor Kathy Taylor, an authority member, was asked to leave by the rest of the members due to the pending litigation.

The city's lawsuit, filed last week, accuses the county of failing to live up to the representations it made to Tulsans during the successful 1995 campaign for a permanent sales tax to fund jail operations.

Under the old agreement, which expired Nov. 30, the city paid no fee to house its municipal inmates in the Tulsa Jail in exchange for providing certain assets and services to the county.

But the county now maintains that increased operating costs require that the city pay a direct fee. The invoicing will start for the month of December.

[RecycleMichael]

So...a trust authority asked a full voting member of the authority to leave the room.

Wow.

I have never heard of that.

[Wrinkle]

Wow is right.
Just when I think I've seen everything, our leaders pull another one out of the bag.

fwiw, the lawsuit is against the County, not the Criminal Justice Authority. The Authority has no right to make such a request, nor any reason to do so. They preempted the City's representative vote on the issue, the very reason our Mayor sits on this Board.

Actually, I'd question the ability of the County to bill the City for Authority services in the first place. The Authority IS the governing body of the jail, not the County. If the City is billed, it would seem to be directly from the Authority. The County is out of the picture from that standpoint, even if they do set rates, which also seems obtuse. The Authority should be setting and billing it's own rates. The purpose of an Authority is to segregate its' operations, especially from politically-motivated antics.

Strictly speaking, the Authority should also be billing the County the daily rate if they do that to Tulsa as well.

[Wrinkle]

I forget the exact rates, but the Authority finds acceptable, in some way, a rate half their proposed rate (something like $27.50/day) for State of Oklahoma prisoners. I don't see how they can charge one rate for some and another rate for others.

Under what statute/contract is the Authority/County required to accept the lower rate from the State?

Seems the City would be offered a comparable rate, or the City could contract for "the lowest rate charged by the Authority/County".

If the County can indeed set its' own rates, then the State would be required to pay that rate as well, instead of the State just announcing they'll reimburse at a particular rate. iac, the Authority/County wouldn't need to accept it, and would bill the State their rate anyway, or refuse to hold State prisoners.

As I see it, the County really has no horse in this race. The Authority governs the jail.

[carltonplace]

IMO the county commissioners see the writing on the wall. 4-2-fix as a revenue stream for them is dead, the citizens of Tulsa will never approve another one. A new V2025 (V2050?) would be a non-starter so the county is effectively out of the sales tax collection business in a few years. Smaligo and Miller (and even Sally Bell) are to blame but Smaligo doesn't see it that way. Smaligo's actions and attitudes on this jail issue have been like those of a spoiled toddler.

It probably isn't in the realm of possibility, but what if the lawsuit goes in Tulsa's favor? If the court decides that the city of Tulsa has paid for the biggest part of this jail and that the ballot verbage was misleading; could it be possible that the city could gain ownership?

[carltonplace]

From the Tulsa World today:
Full Article


It includes the same $54.13 per-inmate daily charge the county is demanding that Tulsa pay.

The contract also contains a definition of a municipal inmate that Tulsa officials are contesting.

It states that those held on city charges are considered municipal inmates, whether or not they are also held on state charges.

Taylor voted against the contract, noting the disagreement with the definition.

[RecycleMichael]

I don't know enough of the different status of inmates (I guess I just need to get arrested).

What laws do I break to be a municipal prisoner and what laws do I need to break to be a state prisoner?

Can I be a federal, a state, a county, and a municipal prisoner at the same time?

If so, who is responsible for payment?

[carltonplace]

According to the contract any and all of the above would be paid by the city of Tulsa if there are municiple charges along with the others. So if you robbed a bank and then tripped over and injured a kitten during your escape you would be a guest of the city.

[MH2010]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I don't know enough of the different status of inmates (I guess I just need to get arrested).

What laws do I break to be a municipal prisoner and what laws do I need to break to be a state prisoner?

Can I be a federal, a state, a county, and a municipal prisoner at the same time?

If so, who is responsible for payment?

I'll try to clarify what the county is saying about prisoners the way I understand it.

No matter what additional charges (federal or state) a person has, if they have one municipal charge then they are considered a municipal prisoner.

For example, if someone was arrested for murder, rap, armed robbery ect. and have one municipal traffic warrant (i.e. speeding) then they would be considered a municipal prisoner.

If someone was arrested for a federal conspiracy charge or a federal possession of a firearm AFCF charge and had one municipal warrant (i.e. dog at large) they are considered a municipal prisoner.  

It doesn't even have to be TPD that arrests them.  If TCSO, BAPD, (any police department in Tulsa County), ATF, DEA, Secret Service, ICE, U.S. Marshals or FBI arrests anyone on any federal charge or state charge and they have a municipal warrant, the city of Tulsa is supposed to pay $54.13 a day for them.