Hours after he was sworn in Monday, Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado revealed new and continuing members of his administration.
Tulsa County’s new undersheriff will be Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. George Brown. Brown will oversee day-to-day operations and be Regalado's second in command. Brown said the new sheriff is putting an end to a "good old boy" system that became pervasive in the sheriff’s office.
"He started with me," Brown said. "I'm a person who comes from a completely different background, a completely different agency, and so I think that we can take the best of our former agencies and experiences that we've learned and put them to work for the people of Tulsa County."
Brown will assume undersheriff duties May 1 because his OHP retirement date was set for April 30.
Fixing the budget is on Regalado's agenda. He's bringing in Washington County Treasurer Brad Johnson on a part-time basis. Johnson comes into a jail budget that consistently spends more than it’s allocated, forcing county officials to take funding from other areas.
Johnson declined to offer any specific plans until he has time for a full review.
"We just have to sit down and look at the revenue streams, what those patterns have been, look at our expenditures and what our priorities are and see if we can get back into a balanced budget situation," Johnson said. "I have every degree of confidence that will happen."
Next fiscal year’s jail budget request is $37 million. A dedicated jail sales tax should bring in only $27 million. Johnson said he hasn’t ruled any steps in or out yet, including privatizing the jail.
"I couldn't speak to that issue," Johnson said. "That's a decision, I think, that the sheriff would have to make, and right now, my concentration — at his direction — is to see what the budget necessities are and what the fiscal planning will be in the future."
Regalado quickly said he won’t consider privatizing the jail unless someone can provide data showing it makes absolute sense.
Also serving in Regalado's administration are former acting Sheriff Michelle Robinette, who will be chief deputy; former TV reporter Casey Roebuck, who comes in as public information officer director; and attorneys Meredith Baker and Terry Simonson.
