At yesterday’s Enid Mayor and City Commissioner Study Session, Garfield County Jail Administrator Ben Crooks presented his pitch to the city council for a .3% sales tax increase that would go towards expanding the jail which crooks says is overcrowded. While the sales tax increase is a countywide issue that Garfield County will decide whether or not to put on the ballot, Enid is the largest city in Garfield County and wields considerable influence.
If the Enid City Commission is against the sales tax increase then they could campaign against the increase making it that much harder for the increase to get passed. Crooks was questioned by city commissioners over what has caused the increase in the jail population.
A major factor that Crooks revealed was that the State of Oklahoma has taken a while to pick up inmates that have been sentenced. Another factor is inmates waiting for trials clogging up the jail. While commissioners were sympathetic to Crook’s situation, some believe the onus is on the state to fix the issue.
City Commissioner Scott Orr said, “I understand this is a leadership problem at the State Department of Corrections it’s their problem they need to fix it”. Garfield County will be deciding whether or not to add the question of a sales tax increase to the budget in the coming months.
