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Washington County Commissioners

Posted: Mar 03, 2020 1:10 PMUpdated: Mar 03, 2020 1:38 PM

Regional Jail for Northeast Oklahoma Being Discussed

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Garrett Giles

Regional Jail Districts could be a possibility in the State of Oklahoma in the near future.

District One Commissioner Mitch Antle of Washington County said this discussion is in its infancy, but the talks are happening. He said it is being discussed rather heavily in Northeast Oklahoma.

Detention services are costly endeavors for any county in the area. Commissioner Antle said it seems logical to look into Regional Jail Districts. He said at the very least they can shift liability from Washington County's insurance pool to a trust.

District Three Commissioner Mike Dunlap said there will come a time when they might be faced with eliminating coverage for some County Detention Centers. He said that would put those jails out of business.

Yes, the County Jails are covered, and yes, they have insurance, but with large settlements like this, that insurance terminates at approximately $1-million. Commissioner Dunlap said ACCO covers up to that point, and then they have what they call reinsurance, which the County pay's premiums for. He said in a recent CED meeting in Bartlesville, data showed that 98-percent of claims fall on law enforcement liability.

The point behind all this is for the public is this: when the County gets large settlements, they cover some of it through insurance, they cover a little bit more through reinsurance, and then the remaining balance goes to you - the taxpayer - by ad valorem levy. For example, everybody's property taxes go up during a lawsuit, and in some of these situations where the counties are smaller and the population is thin, those property taxes could triple in order to pay off the lawsuit. The money could instead be used on something like schools or maintenance of county roads.

Commissioner Antle said he is curious to see how the concept of regional jails would turn out. He said he believes the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma would put a committee together that the Commissioners in the area would have to serve on to some capacity.

Pictured is the Washington County Detention Center in Bartlesville.


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