Tulsa County's budget board moved $421,000 Monday from a fund for employee raises to the jail fund, bringing additional support for the jail this year up to $3.7 million.
Fiscal Officer Tom Gerard said it's a cash flow issue, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal payments to the jail for housing prisoners yet to come in.
"And in this particular case, we've billed for the month of May, and we probably won't receive the month of May's cash money until July," Gerard said.
The jail operations fund hasn't kept up with expenses most of this fiscal year. Park, special projects and risk management funds have all been dipped into.
The recent transfer won't cover everything. The sheriff's office is $600,000 short for May and $800,000 short for June.
The sheriff is not paying the jail's medical service provider this month.
Things should change now that a new undersheriff is in charge of the jail.
"We're optimistic that, hopefully, we'll have this under control within the next three to six months," Gerard said. "It does take time, because every time you make a policy change, there's a delay in the impact that it will show."
Part of the problem was monthly academies to get deputies for the jail, who were paid for training.
"Because of the nature of that particular environment, many of those people that go through that 30-day training don't even last for a couple weeks or a month," Gerard said.
Former Undersheriff Tim Albin stepped down in April. He was replaced by former Chief Deputy Rick Weigel.
