OK County Rejects Commissioner Jason Lowe’s Sales Tax Proposal

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma County District 1 Commissioner Jason Lowe’s proposal to create a 5/8 cent permanent county sales tax to fund construction and maintenance of the county jail was rejected by both his fellow commissioners and members of the public on Wednesday.
“We need to allow the voters – not politicians – to decide this issue,” said Lowe during Wednesday’s meeting of the Oklahoma County Commissioners. Lowe’s proposal would have put the proposed sales tax on the ballot for the voters of Oklahoma County to decide.
Lowe’s proposal would have put before the voters in Oklahoma County a permanent 5/8 cent sales tax to be used for not only the construction and maintenance of a new county jail, but for other public safety needs.
“In my nine months here, it has become very apparent to me that we are on an unsustainable path, not only with the detention center but also with other critical public safety issues within Oklahoma County,” Lowe said. The county also needs money for operations and maintenance for road and bridge enhancements, and for juvenile programs, he said.
The Oklahoma County Jail has been underfunded for decades, said Lowe, “and I don’t want to wait another 20 years, waiting for the right time… Enough is enough. We have to get this done.”
The public comment portion of the meeting found citizens who are usually on opposing sides regarding issues affecting the county united in their opposition to Lowe’s sales tax proposal.
“I can’t believe I’m siding with the Chamber on this one – I’ve been battling them forever,” said resident Christopher Johnson.
“I’m in the uncomfortable position again of being up here and actually being on the same side as the Chamber of Commerce,” echoed resident Mark Faulk. Faulk said many residents of Oklahoma County cannot afford another sales tax on top of the mounting cost of living.
“Now you’re going to have the poorest of the poor build a bigger jail,” said resident Sean Cummings, noting that 55% of those incarcerated in the county jail are Black.
Lisa Janloo addressed her remarks to the other two county commissioners, District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan and District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson, appealing to them as a business owner and as fellow Republicans.
“We don’t want big government, we don’t want more taxes,” she said.
Lowe noted that he was not on the commission when it voted to purchase land to construct a new jail on Grand Boulevard. Lowe had advocated for the new jail to be located downtown, near where the current jail is, near the police department and the city and county courthouses.
It was only after voters supported a proposal to build a new jail that the estimated cost of construction shot up to $800 million, “which was almost a $500 million gap,” Lowe said.
“When I was elected, this board moved forward with construction of this jail, though I voted against it, the vote was two to one. I voted against it based on the fact that we don’t have the resources at this point in time to build a new jail. We’re still $500 million short,” Lowe said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Neither of the other two commissioners would second Lowe’s proposal, a procedural move that killed Lowe’s motion before it could be put to a vote.