District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan is asking the board to call a Nov. 3 election on a 0.40% tax for detention, diversion and mental health facilities and programs.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma County commissioners will meet Wednesday to consider whether to ask voters to approve a 25-year sales tax for the county jail, diversion programs and mental health services.
Resolution No. 2026-3395 is recommended by District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan, who chairs the three-member board.
The 0.40% tax would run from April 1, 2027, through March 31, 2052, adding 4 cents to a $10 taxable purchase. If at least two commissioners support calling the election, it would go before Oklahoma County voters Nov. 3.
Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board Chairman Steve Mason previously estimated the tax would generate about $70 million annually. Under a 25-year scenario presented to the board, approximately $44 million a year would support debt payments and $26 million would go toward operations. Those are planning estimates, not allocations fixed in the ballot resolution.
Companion measures would approve the election proclamation and establish financial controls. The implementation plan calls for the money to be kept in a restricted fund separate from the county’s general fund, with quarterly financial reports, annual performance reports and a public sales-tax dashboard.
Commissioners would retain control of the fund. The plan says they may appoint a citizens oversight subcommittee but does not require one. The committee would be advisory and have no spending authority.
The Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board recommended a $605 million financing cap and limits of 800,000 square feet and 1,800 beds. Those restrictions do not appear in the proposed ballot resolution or implementation plan.
This is the third county sales-tax proposal considered this year. District 1 Commissioner Jason Lowe proposed a permanent five-eighths-cent tax in January, and interim District 3 Commissioner Paul Foster proposed a permanent half-cent tax in June. Both died without receiving a second.
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber has not taken a position. An official told OK Politics Today last week that the Chamber would wait for commissioners to act before considering whether to support the measure.
The commission meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Room 204 of the Oklahoma County Office Building, 320 Robert S. Kerr Ave. The meeting will be streamed on the county’s YouTube channel.
