Policy & Governance recommends multiple department estimates to budget team; discusses free-fair manual, staffing and emergency management needs

The Oklahoma County Policy & Governance Committee reviewed several FY25–26 department estimates of needs and voted to recommend those requests to the county Budget Evaluation Team (BET).

The committee received estimates and made recommendations spanning multiple departments and programs. Highlights included discussion of the Oklahoma County Free Fair Association’s draft manual and financial procedures, staffing recruitment for BOCC administrative positions, janitorial and capital-improvement budgets, emergency management funding and equipment needs, and operational and software needs for the county pharmacy.

Free Fair: The committee met with the county free fair president and reviewed the draft free-fair manual and attached forms. The president said facility rental costs for the Jones facility are expected to increase from approximately $9,000 to $15,000–$16,000 for upcoming events; the president requested a 10% increase on the association’s current allocation to cover rental and other costs. The president also requested a stipend for a secretary and cited a $7.50 figure (as stated during the meeting). Committee staff and the association discussed moving judges’ payouts into professional services for faster payment and ensuring required W-9s and purchase orders are collected in advance. The committee recommended moving the free-fair estimate forward to BET for consideration and asked staff to finalize forms and line-by-line questions before final adoption of the manual.

Recruitment and positions: Committee members discussed recruitment for a BOCC financial support specialist and for grants-writer positions. Staff reported the grants recruitment had received approximately 18 applications and identified roughly five applicants who appeared qualified based on submitted materials; some applicants lacked resumes. Committee members asked to review the candidate pool and agreed to call a special Policy & Governance meeting to determine next steps and selection procedures.

Department budgets and capital items: The committee considered multiple departmental estimate packets. Key items included: • Engineering/Planning — recommended to BET with no substantive increases beyond requested corrections for benefits. • Janitorial — one-year remaining on current contract with UBM; committee included a 10% increase for janitorial supplies and noted a likely contract price increase next year. • Capital improvements — staff proposed a $500,000 capital package that included $50,000 for courthouse carpet, $50,000 for annex carpet repairs/replacement, $100,000 as the insurance deductible placeholder, and a $300,000 commissioners’ unencumbered capital figure to allow rapid response to emergencies.

Emergency management and EOC furniture: Emergency management staff reviewed several special revenue and grant accounts. The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) was described as an annual FEMA grant of about $60,000 distributed in four quarterly increments of $15,000; the local match is provided through the emergency management general fund. A communication infrastructure fund was projected to receive $22,278.90 in income for the coming year (from tower tenant fees). Staff requested furniture and other capital outlay for the new Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Kraus and noted two additional outdoor warning devices (tornado sirens) and two chassis units for fire rescue departments as recommended public-safety equipment. Staff said there is a $428,000 surplus from a communications project that may be transferred to the EOC effort; they are evaluating whether ARPA funds or that surplus could cover furniture requests.

Pharmacy operations: County pharmacy staff presented a merged budget after combining pharmacy staff and previous lines. The committee heard that in the pharmacy’s first month of retail operations the pharmacy processed roughly $100,000 in transactions; staff said they hope to reach $300,000 monthly volume in time. Budget changes included an increase in postage from $15,000 to $30,000 and a one-time software update request of $8,500 for pharmacy software; staff also noted a need for four new computers due to Windows 10 upgrades and suggested pursuing that as a one-time BET request.

Committee motions: The committee moved multiple department estimates forward to the BET for further review, and those motions carried by voice vote. Committee members also agreed to convene a special meeting to continue recruitment discussions for the BOCC financial support specialist and to review grant applicants for the grants-writer position.

Committee members emphasized following procurement and selection best practices, ensuring forms (W-9s, POs) are collected before payouts, and clarifying roles and expectations for free-fair administration before formal adoption of the manual.

The committee’s recommendations will be considered by the Budget Evaluation Team and returned to the BOCC as part of the FY25–26 budget process.