Jail Contract In Place, Tension Still High Between Tulsa City, County

The latest compromise over the costs of keeping inmates in the county jail is only a short term fix, but for now, the city and county have found common ground.

Both sides are still far apart on a final, long term contract, but for now they have a price.

The division between the county and city is so strong they still can't sit together, even in meetings where they agree.

The criminal justice authority has had to bridge the gap through negotiations on how much it costs to keep a Tulsa city inmate in the county jail.

The sheriff complained the old rate was too low and the mayor objected to a possible fee to handle booking.

County Commissioner Ron Peters helped get the two sides working together.

“I don't think either side is jumping up and down, but when you have two sides that far apart who get together on a compromise, it's good for everybody,” Peters said.

The county handles federal, state and city inmates and everyone pays a different price.

Tulsa was paying $45 a day for most inmates who stayed overnight. The new rate is $59 a day, even if they only stay for part of a day.

11/17/2014 Related Story: Agreement Reached In Tulsa Jail Contract Negotiations

"I'm comfortable with the $59 rate and I think the sheriff is too," Undersheriff Tim Albin said.

Mayor Dewey Bartlett, representing the city on the jail authority, still isn't sure that's a fair price and is convinced the jail could cut costs, but he's on board with the agreement, which only runs for eight months.

"I think what we've done is a first good step, is working with the county and the jail authority to agree on a fair fee to pay for that jail," Bartlett said.

The rate increase will cost the city at least $600,000 more, but the jail is still running a deficit now estimated to be $4.1 million for the year.

There's a new audit being done of jail operations to try to nail down the actual cost and find any possible savings.

That's going to take a while, but those numbers will work into negotiations next summer.