The state has had no shortage of rainy days over the past few weeks, but a new report from State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd shows the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office has not saved up for one.
On the contrary, Byrd’s audit highlights poor financial practices within the agency — no surprise after her office released Part One of the review in June 2024, the same month Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason was reelected with 53.4 percent of the vote in a three-way race. According to Amason, however, CCSO’s budgeting woes are due to sabotage from the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners.
Learn more about the audit, along with updates on Oklahoma Forestry Services’ response to wildfires in March, a handful of issues in Oklahoma County and more in the roundup below.
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office financial practices criticized
Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd found that the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office has a pattern of budgetary mismanagement in an audit released April 24.
The audit was requested by the Cleveland County Board of County Commissioners, which has clashed with Sheriff Chris Amason over his office’s budget. The auditor’s office examined the CCSO’s financial records with a focus on Fiscal Year 2024 and analyzed trends from 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 as well. Part One of the audit was released last June, although it included only basic facts about how the office is funded.
Now, findings include poor controls over budget processes, improper travel expenses and no annual schedule of incarceration costs, a tool the audit said can help law enforcement agencies better determine how much money they need to fund jails.
The audit concluded CCSO violated state purchasing laws by failing to encumber funds — the practice of setting aside money for a specific purpose as required by state statute Title 19, Section 1505. Further, the sheriff’s office is prone to overspending, Byrd noted. For Fiscal Year 2024, CCSO made a budget request of $23.3 million, but the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners only granted $18.4 million.
“After the (Cleveland County) Budget Board approved a lower budget than was requested, the CCSO did not take steps to stay within the limits of the approved budget,” the audit said.
On Feb. 12, 2024, Amason approached the board asking for more funding. On Feb. 26, 2024, the county provided $1.3 million in additional funding, according to The Norman Transcript, which reported two weeks later that the agency’s budget has increased every year Amason has been in office. He was first elected in 2020.
The audit also found improper reimbursements and payments associated with travel.
“The CCSO attended 24 out-of-state training conferences totaling $33,283 throughout the United States such as Kansas, Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington, and Tennessee during FY 24,” Byrd said. “This is the same fiscal year where the CCSO made multiple requests to the budget board for additional funding.”
Agency funds were used on “high-end meals, games, DoorDash service” and a hotel room for a training conference that had been canceled.
“CCSO also experienced a turnover in administrative staff responsible for financial matters,” Byrd said.
In June 2024, Cleveland County commissioners settled a $55,000 gender discrimination lawsuit from former CCSO chief financial officer Teri Allison, who claimed she was unfairly fired in favor of a younger, less experienced male employee, who was hired for a higher salary than she had been making. According to The Transcript’s Mindy Ragan Wood, Allison’s firing followed her accusing the sheriff of financial misconduct, including payment for out-of-state travel for Amason and his wife. Amason denied the accusations.
Byrd wrote she believes “stakeholders in the process (…) are taking the proper corrective measures” in response to the audit. On May 2, The Transcript reported that District Attorney Jennifer Austin was forwarding the audit to Attorney General Gentner Drummond for review since Austin’s office represents the sheriff’s office in civil matters.
The day before, Amason told The Transcript that county commissioners were responsible for some of the financial issues his office faces.
“The audit shows a picture of what happened to me,” Amason told the paper. “It also shows a picture of the crisis that I was put into. A lot of the findings were because of the financial underfunding that has gone on over the last two years.”
Amason accused the commissioners of directing money that could have gone into his office’s capital funding for a politically-named “sheriff’s bailout fund” aimed at embarrassing him in February 2024.
According to The Transcript, Amason characterized his agency as underfunded. The audit confirmed all $18.4 million approved for the sheriff’s office was collected by CCSO, although that figure was well short of the $23.3 million CCSO had requested.
As for the CFO who replaced Allison, Amason said improperly recorded transactions were partly the new CFO’s fault.
“The thing is, he knew nothing about how the county government works. So he’s thrown into this hellfire storm that’s getting ready to happen, and he has no solid basis on county government,” Amason told The Transcript. “He did the best that he could (…) I’m not saying that the sheriff office did not do (proper) procedural things all the time. But it was caused by the chaos that we were thrown into because of the decisions of the budget.”
Stitt releases preliminary findings of Oklahoma Forestry Services task force
Six weeks after high winds and wildfires ravaged Oklahoma, taking four lives and destroying more than 500 homes, Gov. Kevin Stitt has released a preliminary report addressing what he calls “unacceptable” shortcomings by Oklahoma Forestry Services, a division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
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“Wildfires will come; we can’t always stop that. But we can control how we respond,” Stitt said in a press release April 25. “Unfortunately, this report proves what too many on the ground already knew: Resources weren’t used effectively, and the response from the Forestry Department fell short. Our firefighters were risking their lives without the backup they needed. That’s unacceptable.”
Stitt fired OFS director Mark Goeller, who had been with the agency for more than 40 years, in the aftermath of the March 14-16 wildfire outbreak, drawing ire from firefighters and other emergency personnel who claimed the governor was barking up the wrong tree. But Stitt doubled down by suggesting OFS be completely disbanded, with funding redirected to local firefighters.
That further fanned the flames among emergency responders and legislative leaders, especially after Stitt released an op-ed erroneously claiming Goeller “only deployed half of his available resources” that weekend. Ultimately, an email from an OFS official indicated that Stitt’s team appeared to have misinterpreted the information provided.
Stitt formed a “working group” led by Secretary of Public Safety Tricia Everest and Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur to review the OFS response to the fires. In a one-page list of preliminary findings released April 27, other members of the working group were identified only by organization. The sheet highlighted general “areas of concern and opportunities for improvement,” including:
- Improved integration between emergency response agencies;
- Increased coordination between state and local responders;
- Improved statewide wildfire mitigation;
- More accurate and timely response to where and how resources are dispatched;
- Opportunities for local coordination and collaboration;
- Additional training for opportunities for first responders;
- Unified command;
- Additional opportunities for planning and response exercises; and
- Recruitment and retention of rural volunteer firefighters.
The sheet mentioned “statutory change considerations” for county burn ban requirements — only the governor and county commissioners can issue a burn ban currently — and suggested eliminating the state’s forest protection areas in eastern Oklahoma.
The protection areas contain Oklahoma’s oak-hickory and oak-pine forests, which are unique to the eastern side of the state. Wildfires within the protection areas are “designated initial attack” areas for OFS, which responds directly to those fires, while fires in other parts of the state are supposed to be first reported to 911 and local fire departments. The protection areas seemed to cause confusion for Stitt’s office during the March outbreak. Stitt first reported only half of OFS’ resources were deployed during the outbreak.
However, OFS logs disputed that claim. An email from OFS assistant director Andy James to Arthur could have been the source of Stitt’s claim that only half of resources were deployed. The email appeared to reflect the number of resources and personnel deployed outside of the protection areas, which constituted about half of OFS’ total resources. An OFS map received by Stitt’s office in April showed the majority of OFS resources were deployed, with many eventually being pulled from OFS’ protected areas and mobilized further west in the state throughout March 14.
House committee advances repeal of driver’s license gender change rules
With both Democrats on the committee voting against it, the Oklahoma House Administrative Rules Committee advanced a resolution Monday repealing Service Oklahoma rules that allow people to change the gender marker on their driver’s license.
“This is just hateful legislation targeting a very small portion of our community,” said Rep. Michelle McCane (D-Tulsa) during her debate against the resolution.
Promulgated Aug. 25, 2024, Service Oklahoma’s current rules allow transgender licensees to obtain a court order changing their name and a notarized statement from the physician who performed the sex change operation to change their gender designation on their license. The rules also allow licensees to change their name and gender designation on their license if they can show that they have been diagnosed with “gender dysphoria.”
If HJR 1032 passes both chambers and is not vetoed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, those sections of the agency’s rules would be repealed.
Rep. Kevin West (R-Moore) authored the resolution, and during the meeting he said Service Oklahoma did not ask for a repeal of the rules but that the agency was supportive of it.
“I became aware of these rules and got to doing some research, and we do not have statutory authority for this,” West said. “I then contacted Service Oklahoma, and I worked with them — they are supportive of removing this, but they did not request it.”
West said repealing the rules is necessary so driver’s licenses “have factual information” identifying people’s gender, which is important in instances of medical emergencies.
The two Democrats on the committee, McCane and Rep. John Waldron (R-Tulsa), pushed back, saying driver’s licenses reflect gender identity, not sex.
“We have a fundamental responsibility to public safety,” Waldron said. “If we take away a gender marker that is part of someone’s core identity, if we say the state must insist that this is you (…) we present a fundamental danger to the health and wellbeing of these citizens.”
The committee eventually advanced HJR 1032 by a 9-2 vote. The committee also advanced three other resolutions regarding agency rules:
- HJR 1033, which would approve all permanent rules for energy, agriculture and wildlife agencies;
- HJR 1034, which would approve all permanent rules for the Attorney General’s Office, the Board of Tests for Alcohol and Drug Influence, the State Board of Licensed Social Workers, the Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. It also approves all rules for the Office of Juvenile Affairs except for proposed Rule 377:1-3-26 (c)(2), which would say a member of the OJA Board “may be disqualified from a vote at a time and without explanation. A member who is disqualified from a vote shall be considered to be not present for the purposes of that vote”; and
- HJR 1035, which would approve certain rules for health-related agencies, while disapproving certain rule changes for opioid treatment programs at ODMHSAS — “proposed changes to the ‘diversion control plan’ and ‘medical director’ definitions” in 450:70-1-2, as well as changes to Subparagraphs 2, 4, 6 and 9 of Paragraph A in 450:70-4-8.3, as well as changes to Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph C in 450:70-6-10, and changes to Paragraph B of 450:70-6-17.2. — the Health Care Authority’s unposted changes to “317:30-5-2” regarding fee-for-service reimbursement to physician assistants, the Funeral Board’s unposted changes to 235:10-3-2 Paragraph 6 regarding “selection rooms” for licensed funeral service establishments, and the Board of Chiropractic Examiners’ proposed creation of 140:15-5-5 Paragraphs B and C regarding the purchase and compounding of “injectables” by a chiropractor.
The four resolutions now head to the House floor for consideration by the full chamber.
Oklahoma County commissioners still waiting to act on land swap
The Board of Oklahoma County Commissioners took no action April 23 on a proposed purchase of land at 1100 S. Eastern Ave. The month before, commissioners approved the purchase, but the motion faced one final hurdle before moving forward: voting to authorize District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson to sign real estate documents related to the purchase. The parcel, which is across the street from Crooked Oak High School, had been proposed by Davidson as part of a land swap with the school district. Crooked Oak administrators and patrons had been critical of the nearby site selected for the new county jail at 1901 E. Grand Blvd. because of its proximity to the school’s football stadium.
The $6 million purchase had been intended as the new site for the school’s football stadium. But Davidson’s motion to purchase the land did not receive a second from District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan or John Pettis, Jr., the chief deputy for newly-elected District 1 Commissioner Jason Lowe, who was not present at the meeting.
Davidson seemed surprised there was no second on his motion.
“Is there a second?” Davidson said. “OK. That’s interesting. No second. No action will happen.”
Maughan has previously been critical of the purchase.
“We can’t afford any extra dollar for anything right now,” Maughan said. “We’re even probably going to have to reduce the size and scope of the jail with this inflation that’s out of control.”
Lowe had not been sworn in yet as a commissioner at the time of the vote to approve the purchase last month.
Over the weekend, Davidson posted an argument in favor of the land swap on Facebook titled, “Let’s talk facts: The land swap is a win for everyone.” However, atop the post, Davidson accidentally included the prompt he used asking artificial intelligence to write the post: “Sure! Here’s a Facebook post in the voice and tone of Myles Davidson, emphasizing the mutual benefits of the land swap and addressing critics with a bold, visionary stance.”
Four arrested on OK County Jail fentanyl smuggling attempt
Four people were arrested April 22 in Del City in connection with an investigation into fentanyl-laced mail sent to the Oklahoma County Jail earlier in the month, Oklahoma County Jail spokesman Mark Opgrande said in a press release.
The mail was sent to a detainee at the facility. Investigators said 10 pages of paperwork mailed to the detainee were laced with 60 grams of fentanyl. The contraband was identified through internal security checks, and the four suspects arrested were booked on an array of drug and weapon infractions.
“The presence of fentanyl poses an extreme threat not only to our inmate population, but to our staff and first responders,” said Paul Timmons, the acting CEO of the Oklahoma County Jail. “We are fully committed to identifying and eliminating any efforts to smuggle dangerous substances into our facility. Our Criminal Investigations Division continues to lead from the front to keep our jail secure and drug-free.”
Jennifer Goss, Jerry Vickery and Larry Stotts were arrested in connection with the mail. The fourth suspect was not named.
The arrests came days after the facility experienced yet another detainee death. On April 18, Kasey Ball, 38, was found unresponsive in her cell during an evening head count. She had been booked March 7 on charges of exploitation of an elderly person and a protective order violation.
Oklahoma City Housing Authority strikes DEI language
The Oklahoma City Housing Authority voted April 23 to strike “diversity, equity and inclusion” from its cultural values statement. Executive director Mark Gillett said the move does not reflect any changes in the authority’s core mission.
“Today on the agenda, we’re going to be talking about some changes we’re making to our cultural values statement, removing some of the language regarding diversity, equity, inclusion — changing it to other language,” Gillett said. “Before we get to those items, I just want to say that that does not at all mean that we are changing who we serve. It does not at all mean that we’re limiting our employment base. It does not at all mean that we’re limiting our contractor base. And it does not at all mean that we are limiting our resident base. We will continue to serve everyone. We are just taking some proactive measures to deter the possibility of being subject to word searches that the administration (of President Donald Trump) might be proposing.”
After making it a campaign issue in 2024, 4he Trump administration has opposed DEI efforts by private companies, public universities and government agencies in the president’s second term. The administration has threatened to terminate federal funding for entities that do not remove diversity language. The Oklahoma City Housing Authority receives federal funds as part of its operations.
Public housing director Matt Mills outlined some of the changes.
“We did not change our mission statement,” Mills said. “We took some verbiage out, but there was a small change on the [vision] statement that had ‘inclusive’ in it, and we just changed it. It used to say OCHA’s purpose is to ‘advance equity and inclusion,’ and now it says OCHA’s purpose is to ‘advance opportunities.’ So that is the change to that statement. The mission statement had no changes to it. The vision statement, it was the leading example of ‘inclusive, affordable housing’ (that) was the change we made there.”
Mills said “service-driven collaboration” was also added to the statement.
“Previously, we had one that was labeled ‘diversity and belonging,’ and so that was probably the biggest change,” he said during the meeting.
