Cleveland County Budget Board approved the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget Thursday morning.
The board also held a public hearing before the meeting for residents to discuss the allocation and transferring of funds.
Sheriff’s Office, Cleveland County Detention Center budget discussion
As the board discussed the proposed budget, County Sheriff and board member Chris Amason questioned when the final numbers were decided upon. Rod Cleveland, county commissioner and chairman of the board, told Amason a collection of board members “threw out numbers” individually, eventually deciding on the final proposal.
“No one came to me and asked me anything, Rod,” Amason said. “That’s obviously a violation of the Open Meetings Act.”
The Open Meetings Act requires the county government to hold meetings open to the public to ensure transparency.
Robin Moore, District 21 assistant district attorney, said there was not a violation of the Open Meetings Act due to a recent change. Moore said the passage of House Bill 1664 changed the act, allowing members of the budget board to meet and discuss the budget.
According to Melissa Smuzynski, county director of communications, Amason’s office will receive over $21.7 million in combined funds. Amason originally submitted a combined estimated needs of roughly $26 million.
Amason continued to question how the budget for his office was determined. District 2 County Commissioner Jacob McHughes told Amason the decision was made to protect taxpayers and keep the funds within the county’s budget.
“In light of the state audit, Sheriff, we have to make sure we’re safeguarding the taxpayers,” McHughes said.
State Auditor Cindy Byrd conducted a special audit of the Sheriff’s department in April, as requested by the Cleveland County Commissioners. According to an April 24 press release, the sheriff’s department received the highest funding levels in county history, but exceeded its budget by $4 million.
Cleveland asked the board to move to open a formal discussion of the budget, which Amason said he wasn’t okay with. The board moved to open discussion, with Amason being the first to speak.
“You gave me this amount last year and I had to lay off 30 employees,” Amason said. “We have been barely surviving. I am just now getting the detention center staffed, and now this budget will decimate that. I cannot continue to allow this - to let this board affect public safety.”
McHughes repeated his concerns about the findings of the April audit, with Amason responding that everything from the audit had been corrected. Amason then accused the county commissioners and County Treasurer Jim Reynolds of telling news outlets that he was “blowing through” his budget.
Amason said the Cleveland County Detention Center was falling apart and in need of repairs. In March, the center’s medical contractor, TK Health, formerly Turn Key Health Clinics, announced it will leave the jail on June 30. In May, Carl Douglas Kachel, 53, became the 10th inmate to die in the detention center in the last three years.
“How much does it cost to maintain the detention center?” Cleveland asked. “When was the last time that you submitted (the cost of incarceration) to the district court?”
Amason declined to answer the question.
McHughes revisited the cost of incarceration, saying it was required by law to be submitted each year, but Amason had not submitted it since 2022.
“We haven’t had that now for three years,” McHughes said. “We need to have these things figured out, Sheriff, when we’re presenting a budget. That’s essential.”
Amason said the board required him to spend all of his officer’s ad valorem funds the year the audit was conducted.
“The bottom line is that this budget board has ensured enough appropriations and enough money for you to maintain the detention center,” Cleveland told Amason.
McHughes said Amason’s office should not request more funds as he has not “efficiently and effectively managed” the funds it has already allocated.
Members of the board began to speak over each other, leading Cleveland to bang his gavel to call for order.
“We’re gonna let every member vote on (the budget),” Amason said. “I’ll take it up with the excise board next and after that, I will take legal action. That’s the only thing you guys have left me to do.”
The board approved the budget in a 7-1, with Amason being the only member to vote against it.
Despite Amason’s disaproval of the budget, Cleveland said he is satisfied with the final budget.
“I feel very good about the funds,” Cleveland said. “After looking at what we had to do, everybody was pretty much flat on a budget, and the increases were reasonably given.”
Reynolds told reporters after the meeting that the members of the board took a stand to do what was right for the county.
Reynolds told reporters Amason’s office has received about a 50% increase in funds over the last five years, but has not been able to manage these funds.
“Why can’t he manage successfully what his predecessor was able to do with $13 million?” Reynolds asked.
OU Daily asked Amason for comment after the meeting, but he declined to comment.
The Well’s, employee benefits budget cuts
During the public hearing, OU economics professor Cynthia Rogers questioned the budget cuts to The Well, a facility that hosts health and wellness community programs.
In the proposed budget, The Well will see a cut of over $62,000 compared to last year’s budget of $249,759, according to Smuzynski.
Cleveland addressed Rogers’ concern, saying the cut was for a position within The Well that was never occupied.
“It was being funded by the state,” Cleveland said. “And there was a fear that maybe the state was not going to fund that anymore.”
Cleveland said the amount was intended to be used in contract with the Cleveland County Health Department to fund the position, but it was not necessary.
“The Cleveland County Health Department was actually able to fund that position out of their health department funds,” Cleveland said. “So this year we did not need that.”
Rogers also questioned proposed cuts to the county’s employee benefits, saying she was worried about what the cuts would mean for county staff.
Cleveland said the money being cut from the employee benefits fund was excess allotted for employees who choose a payout rather than health insurance.
“Over the couple years, we’ve kind of got that program lined out,” Cleveland said. “There hasn’t been any reduction to any health benefits.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza.
