County officials seek review after Criminal Justice Authority press release warns of July cash shortfall

Oklahoma County — Members of the Oklahoma County Budget Board on July 1 asked staff from the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority to meet immediately with the county Budget Evaluation Team after a recent authority press release said the authority could be without sufficient operating funds as soon as July 31.

Board members said they could not reconcile figures in the press release with the authority's budget authority for the fiscal year and described the issue as primarily a cash‑flow timing problem rather than a lack of budget authority. The board scheduled a special Budget Evaluation Team meeting Monday to review the authority's monthly revenue and expense projections and requested authority staff be available to present supporting documents.

The discussion followed a presentation from authority representatives and county staff explaining how monthly cash flows are calculated. County officials said the authority has full budget authority for the fiscal year (about $33.7 million) but may still face a shortfall in available cash this month. The authority's internal projections presented to the board show monthly revenue of about $3,200,000 and monthly expenses of about $3,680,000, creating a projected monthly deficit if those figures hold. The authority's press release that prompted the review included a July 31 date for potential operating shortfalls.

No formal county action to alter the authority's budget was taken during the meeting. Instead, board members directed staff to convene the Budget Evaluation Team (BET) for a special meeting so the team and authority staff can reconcile revenues, expenses, invoicing and cash‑flow timing. A county official said the BET is the appropriate forum to examine line‑by‑line numbers.

Separately during the same discussion, county jail infrastructure and safety upgrades were described to the board. Chief Greg Couch, Infrastructure Technology, said, "We've installed 6 of the biometric life detection sensors in our 6 of our most critical need cells, which are on the Thirteenth Floor," and said the county plans to install an additional 37 sensors in August. Couch also said the county had retrofitted 12 doors to increase sight lines and had repainted showers and completed other facility maintenance work.

County leaders said they would work with authority staff and the county treasurer to address any cash‑flow issues. The board's next step is a special BET meeting to review the authority's detailed monthly revenue and expense reports; board members said they would seek clarifications on the assumptions behind the authority's projections and any near‑term payment schedules or invoicing that affect cash availability.

Action taken elsewhere on the agenda included routine interfund transfers and grant‑related transfers (see separate entries on approved transfers).