Here we go, the gloves are off. The city/county relationship has officially disintegrated and it sure looks like spite to me for Tulsans approving a street improvement plan that includes taking over the county's 4-2-fix sales tax when it expires:
Tulsa World ArticleJail authority approves billing city for inmate charge
By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 12/19/2008 11:45 AM
Last Modified: 12/19/2008 11:45 AM
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority on Friday authorized invoicing the city of Tulsa for the $54.13 per inmate daily charge that is the focus of a lawsuit filed by the city against Tulsa County.
The authority’s decision was made following an executive session, during which Mayor Kathy Taylor, an authority member, was asked to leave by the rest of the members due to the pending litigation.
The city’s lawsuit, filed last week, accuses the county of failing to live up to the representations it made to Tulsans during the successful 1995 campaign for a permanent sales tax to fund jail operations.
Under the old agreement, which expired Nov. 30, the city paid no fee to house its municipal inmates in the Tulsa Jail in exchange for providing certain assets and services to the county.
But the county now maintains that increased operating costs require that the city pay a direct fee. The invoicing will start for the month of December.