Budget & Tax
A new jail is a core function of government. Oklahoma County should fund it.
Jonathan Small | October 19, 2026
Oklahoma County voters will soon be asked to approve a sales-tax increase to fund construction of a new county jail. While this issue may not directly affect those living in other parts of Oklahoma, it shows how fiscally responsible policy applies in practice.
As an Oklahoman working in public policy, my goal is to keep both taxes and regulation at common-sense levels and focus government on core functions. That means my evaluation of this proposed sales tax increase centers on several key questions.
Is public safety a core function? Absolutely. In fact, public safety should be the number one priority of government.
Does Oklahoma County truly need a new jail? Again, the answer is yes. For many years, the current jail has been a problem, and its functional challenges cannot be addressed by simply retrofitting or updating the existing facility, at least not at a cost that would be cheaper than building a new facility.
That brings us to the question that prompts the greatest concern from voters: Is this something that requires a tax increase?
Reality reveals, once again, the answer is yes.
The problems at the chronically dysfunctional jail are so significant that there is a credible chance that the federal government could effectively take it over via court order. Under that scenario, a massive property tax increase would almost certainly be imposed, one that would prove financially crippling for many homeowners and would deter business development in the area.
Although a tax increase is never ideal, a sales tax shared by residents and visitors would be preferable to the potential consequences of a court-imposed solution.
A higher sales tax would be far preferable to a massive property tax increase. The sales tax increase would be more evenly distributed among county residents and visitors, and it is not going to force anyone out of their home, unlike what could happen with a large property tax increase.
Also, the sales-tax plan leaves Oklahoma County residents firmly in control of local policy. That won’t happen under a court order that gives federal officials de facto control.
We must deal with the world as it exists, not as we wish it to be. Oklahoma County residents are going to face a tax increase to pay for a new jail sooner or later. The real decision is whether we want to adopt a non-destructive tax increase and preserve local control, or whether we roll the dice and hope we avoid the worst-case scenario despite having no real plan to prevent it.
That makes the choice clear: Oklahoma County residents should support a sales-tax increase to build a new jail.
Jonathan Small
President
Jonathan Small, C.P.A., serves as President and joined the staff in December of 2010. Previously, Jonathan served as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, as a fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Small’s work includes co-authoring “Economics 101” with Dr. Arthur Laffer and Dr. Wayne Winegarden, and his policy expertise has been referenced by The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, National Review, the L.A. Times, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post. His weekly column “Free Market Friday” is published by the Journal Record and syndicated in 27 markets. A recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s prestigious Private Sector Member of the Year award, Small is nationally recognized for his work to promote free markets, limited government and innovative public policy reforms. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant.