A Chamber official said stronger safeguards, a lower bed count and the 0.40% rate have generated cautious optimism about the latest proposal.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber will wait for Oklahoma County commissioners to act on a proposed sales tax for the new jail before its board considers whether to support the measure.
A Chamber official told OK Politics Today that there is cautious optimism within the organization about the latest proposal, largely because of its accountability provisions, relatively low rate and 1,800-bed limit. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chamber has not taken a formal position.
The Chamber’s eventual decision is considered important to the proposal’s political prospects. It helped lead the successful campaign for the $260 million jail bond issue approved in 2022, but it opposed a similar sales tax in 2003 and withheld support from another proposal earlier this year.
The Oklahoma County Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend a 0.40% county sales tax lasting 25 to 30 years. If county commissioners call an election, the proposal would appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
As proposed, the tax would add 4 cents to a $10 taxable purchase. Advisory board Chairman Steve Mason said it would generate an estimated $70 million annually. Under a 25-year version, approximately $44 million a year would go toward debt payments and $26 million would support jail operations.
The advisory board recommended a $605 million financing cap and limits of 800,000 square feet and 1,800 beds. Previous cost estimates had been based on a jail with approximately 2,300 beds.
The board also proposed expanding the oversight committee to include members with relevant professional credentials and creating a lockbox to reserve excess collections for future maintenance.
The Chamber official said those provisions resemble accountability safeguards used for Oklahoma City’s MAPS programs. The comparison was limited to the oversight structure; MAPS and Oklahoma City have no role in the county proposal.
The official said the proposed rate, lower bed count and Oklahoma County’s relatively low overall tax burden make this version more appealing than earlier proposals. However, the official stressed that paying for the jail is a county problem, not the Chamber’s responsibility.
Commissioners face Aug. 19 deadline
The next scheduled meeting of the Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners is Wednesday, Aug. 12. Commissioners could accept the recommendation, revise its terms, reject it or allow it to die without action.
County officials have said commissioners must act by Aug. 19 to place the proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot. The board also is scheduled to meet that day, leaving two regular meetings before the deadline. At least two of the three commissioners must support calling an election.
If commissioners take it up, the recommendation would become the third jail sales-tax proposal considered by them this year.
District 1 Commissioner Jason Lowe proposed a permanent five-eighths-cent sales tax in January. The motion died without a second from either of the other two commissioners. That proposal also lacked Chamber support.
Interim District 3 Commissioner Paul Foster proposed a permanent half-cent tax in June. That measure also died for lack of a second.
Chamber backed bonds, opposed earlier tax
The Chamber’s position carries added significance because of its involvement in previous jail-funding elections.
In 2003, the Chamber and then-Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys opposed a permanent 0.40% sales tax proposed by Sheriff John Whetsel for jail improvements and expanded county law enforcement. Humphreys said the proposal involved too much money, lacked sufficient accountability and would remain in effect too long.
Voters rejected the tax by approximately a 4-to-1 margin.
The Chamber took the opposite position in 2022. It organized the Fix The Jail campaign and promoted the $260 million bond issue to replace the downtown detention center. The campaign emphasized that the bonds would replace retiring county debt without increasing the property-tax rate.
Voters approved the bond proposal with 59.3% support.
The Chamber has not committed itself to the latest plan. But the official’s comments indicate that, for the first time this year, a proposal may include the rate, size limits and accountability provisions that could make Chamber support possible.
