Oklahoma Co. Commissioners Approve $40 Million Aimed At Jail Mental Health Facility

The Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners held its first meeting of the new year on Tuesday and approved two agenda items that have to do with ARPA fund allocation.

They unanimously voted to allocate $4 million for a new behavioral health center and also approved moving the Sheriff's Department payroll from general funds to ARPA funds. This item was approved by two of three commissioners.

Our mental health needs have been so known in this community for a long time and this is the first time we've really had the resources to grapple with it,” said Chairman Brian Maughan.

The $40 million allocated ARPA funds to go towards a new mental health facility is just the first step of many.

At this point, the funds are still in the hands of the county, not the jail trust.

“It's a first step that will take a long time to get there but we've at least now taken that giant stride,” said Maughan.

Tuesday's vote means that up to $40 million could be spent on the facility if they decide to move forward with the plans. It is clearly stated that ARPA funds should not be used towards a new jail facility, but this center will focus on mental health, not detention.

“It was legal to do it this way where it was not legal to put it towards the construction of a new jail; this will of course help alleviate a lot of pressures on the jail,” said Maughan.

Commissioner Carrie Blumert had concerns about allocating this money before Tuesday's meeting.

“My biggest concern is that we have yet to allocate any money to community needs,” said Vice Chair Blumert.

She has been very vocal in the past few months about putting the ARPA funds towards community needs such as affordable housing, mental and behavioral services and other community outreach.

After a discussion about what the mental health facility would entail, she ended up approving the measure. She says a big part of her decision was a discussion that the facility could potentially be available to both detainees and any community members.

She also had concerns about an item in today’s meeting that would move the Sheriff’s department payroll funds from the general funding, taxpayer dollars, to ARPA funding.

“I didn't feel it was appropriate to use ARPA money for those expenses to free up general fund money to do whatever you need to do with it,” said Commissioner Blumert.

She was the only commissioner to vote against this, so it did pass.

Commissioner Maughn says the money that is currently allocated toward the new jail will not be nearly enough to build the entire jail. This money is part of a bond that was passed over the summer, not ARPA funding.

Maughan says moving the Sheriff’s department payroll to ARPA funds will help alleviate some of the new jail costs.

“Those dollars can potentially be freed up, though it has to be voted on by the budget board, and then that could be

allocated to other things including the construction of the new jail,” said

Maughan.

Oklahoma County received a total of $154 in ARPA funding or American Rescue Plan Act funding. This money was allocated to each county to be used as COVID relief dollars.

Commissioner Carrie Blumert also shared her report following her walk-through of the jail last week. She said at the meeting today she focused a lot of her time on the wellness of detainees.

Blumert spoke with about a dozen detainees and did wellness checks; asking them about their health, when their next court date was, how often they were spending time out of their cell, how often they were getting time to talk with their attorney/ family, and other questions regarding their mental and physical well-being.

She said she only spoke with one inmate who was not having adequate phone time and worked with the jail to remedy that. Other than that inmate, she said she was impressed by the conditions of the jail, saying while there are still problems, it has come a long way in the past few years.

Blumert also said she was very impressed by the new health administrator at the jail, saying she was very attentive and has the goal of no inmate deaths in 2023, following 16 inmate deaths last year.

Blumert said that one concern detainees voiced to her during the walk-through was the need for more mental and behavioral health services. She says this also played into her decision of voting yes to the new mental health facility Tuesday.