Oklahoma County Detention Center reports large November shortfall; board vows review of contracts and expenses

Steve Hampton, identified in the meeting as the new chief financial officer for the Oklahoma County Detention Center, told trustees on Dec. 9 that November revenue fell short of budget by $63,091 and that operations produced a reported net loss for the month of $6,626,512.

The disclosure came during a recurring financial and operational update. Hampton said decreased state prison reporting and a lower detained population contributed to revenue shortfalls, and he identified a one-time guaranteed commissary payment of $33,368 that partially offset losses. He also said expenses for November were above budget by $31,598 but that salaries and benefits were below budget year to date by about $190,382; the trust has been using some of those payroll savings to cover outside professional services such as safety checks and network upgrades.

Board members pressed for more detail on the gap between budgeted and actual figures and on the accounting method used to produce the monthly net-loss figure. "It's just our total revenues minus our total expenses," Hampton said when asked to clarify how the net loss was calculated.

Trustees also focused on two contract issues that could materially affect the center's revenues. Hampton said the county has not yet received revenue from an Oklahoma City municipal housing contract this fiscal year because a fully executed agreement has not been approved; the packet showed $920 recorded for November that may not be from the city. Trustees estimated a potential annual value around $1.2 million if an Oklahoma City agreement were finalized, and they expressed concern about operating while a contract was still under legal review. Hampton confirmed the county attorney is currently reviewing a contract he said had been received "in the last few days."

Separately, board members asked about an audit and invoice review tied to the center's Heritage contract. Hampton said staff are performing a line-by-line review of July–October invoices to determine whether charges and service fees match the invoices and to identify potential overpayments; he characterized the work as “digging into that contract” to determine whether further action is needed.

On staffing, Hampton said the center currently employs roughly 340 staff and is recruiting for detention officers and medical staff; the trust discussed revisions to pay scales intended to improve recruitment and retention. The board debated whether planned increases for clerical staff should be redirected to detention officer pay where vacancies are harder to fill.

After discussion the board voted to receive the report and asked that the financial document be included in the meeting record. No trustee requested an immediate policy decision; Hampton said staff will return with more consolidated, rolling data and hope to present a six-month look at operations in January to give a clearer view of midyear trends.

The trust did not take additional formal actions on contracts at the Dec. 9 meeting; several members asked staff to continue the contract and invoice reviews and to report back at a future meeting.