Tulsa and Jenks have new jail agreements with the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority.
The authority Friday passed Jenks’ unanimously and Tulsa’s 4–1. The agreements are nearly identical.
During the meeting, Tulsa City Attorney David O’Meilia said the city disagrees with a declaration that the sheriff runs the jail and would like to clarify language about daily rates. That caused noticeable frustration among the county commissioners on the authority.
Authority Chair Karen Keith said who operates the jail shouldn't be an issue.
"The sheriff runs the jail by statute. It's very cut and dry," Keith said. "And we, as trustees, manage the sales tax."
It’s uncertain whether the city will sign the agreement.
"Well, we will just absolutely continue to try to work through it," Keith said. "It needs to be done. It needs to be signed, sealed and delivered.
"Time after time, the city is coming back, saying, 'Oh, we don't like this, we don't like that,' and in the meantime, we have invoices that are not being paid."
O’Meilia refused to comment after speaking at the public meeting.
