Oklahoma County Jail Trust To Hold Meeting, Address Employee Concerns

The Oklahoma County Jail Trust is set to meet Monday. The Jail Trust is expected to discuss the details of hiring a new jail administrator and the concerns current employees have raised about the new position. There are still a lot of questions about the

Monday, September 9th 2019, 9:16 am

By: Ashley Holden

Oklahoma County Jail Trust To Hold Meeting, Address Employee Concerns

The Oklahoma County Jail Trust is set to meet Monday.

The Jail Trust is expected to discuss the details of hiring a new jail administrator and the concerns current employees have raised about the new position.

There are still a lot of questions about the administrator position, but officials may have a timeline for hiring someone and a job description, after the meeting.

Right now Sheriff P.D. Taylor is in control of the jail. Taylor will remain in control until January.

In August, the trust voted for a new administrator to eventually take over. Ahead of the vote, Sheriff Taylor defended his position for the last time. He said he heard a lot of criticism with no solutions.

"They don't understand how we do what we do with the lack of funding that's given to us, so I speak against the motion," said Sheriff Taylor.

The sheriff will lose his $30.2 million budget for jail operations, and the trust could ask the county for more.

The county budget office already approved $100,000 dollars for the hiring process.

Budget issues are also on the meeting agenda.

In addition, employee matters surrounding concerns about benefits and future changes are also up for discussion.

We know some employees plan on being at the meeting to voice their concerns.

In August, Mark Meyers with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office said that employees were leaving in droves.

He said in a month, 36 people either quit or retired over uncertainty surrounding the jail trust.

The Sheriff's office cited a resolution and said staff had concerns about "employment," "retirement" and "benefits" that are said to be "comparable to those that they currently enjoy..."

"How is someone going to come in here with no additional funding, with a short staff, with senior staff that has bailed, a crumbling structure," said Meyers. "How is someone going to come in here and make it better?"

There are two items that deal with these concerns, a possible agreement with Oklahoma County to ensure jail employees get "uninterrrupted" health and retirement benefits during a transition.

A presentation by detention deputies is also on the agenda. The jail trust will address future employment, expectations and employee benefits.

The meeting is set for 1 p.m.

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