Budget concerns at the Tulsa Jail prompted a heated meeting Monday between Tulsa County and Sheriff’s Office officials, with the acting sheriff unexpectedly announcing his retirement Tuesday morning.
How much the meeting played into acting Sheriff Rick Weigel’s decision is unclear. Weigel didn’t respond to requests for comment from the Tulsa World.
A news release from the county stated that Weigel told county commissioners he has put in countless hours since stepping in for former Sheriff Stanley Glanz, “but at this time, his family needs him.”
An interoffice memorandum dated Tuesday from Weigel states “there is a budget shortfall concerning the bills” at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center. It also outlines remedies including the cancellation of one-time longevity pay that would have served as a bonus to employees, suspending work on a Sheriff’s Office training center and a potential review of deputy positions at the jail for a possible reduction in staff.
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Chief Deputy John Bowman, who also announced his retirement Tuesday, said the pair already had discussed their retirements a week or so before the Monday meeting.
Bowman said at issue were discretionary funds the Sheriff’s Office can spend as it sees fit — the fees account — and how those dollars were being earmarked for spending. Bowman said he, Weigel and chief financial officer Christina Morrison attended a “contentious” and “lively” meeting with several county officials, including Commissioner John Smaligo, Treasurer Dennis Semler and County Fiscal Officer Tom Gerard.
Bowman said county officials voiced concerns regarding the Sheriff’s Office spending too much of its discretionary funds on the training center and the one-time employee bonuses during a period of low revenues. The county indicated the Sheriff’s Office might run out of its discretionary funds, Bowman said, and that the county wouldn’t supplement budget allocations for the fiscal year.
Smaligo said the county’s general fund has supplemented the jail for several years in a row and that he wants to ensure the Sheriff’s Office stays within its budget. He said expenditures from the fees account in the first half of the fiscal year were a “significant amount,” in some instances with expenses in specific portions of the account equaling or exceeding what had been spent over a full year in the past.
The fiscal year’s first half was divided between Glanz from July 1 through Sept. 30, and Weigel assuming the position from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 — the fiscal year’s halfway mark.
“I think the Sheriff’s Office is going to have to play a role to fill that gap,” rather than relying on the county commissioners or other department heads to find ways to shore up budget holes, Smaligo said.
County officials also read aloud a statute that makes it unlawful for an outgoing sheriff to spend too much of an incoming sheriff’s budget, Bowman said.
Bowman said Weigel asked multiple times if the county intended to charge him and that officials responded they weren’t going to do so.
Smaligo said the county believes the statute applies in certain respects to this situation because it’s binding on all county officers.
“The law says you have to have the money available,” Smaligo said.
Bowman said nothing in the meeting hadn’t been uttered before, but “it’s like a family squabble” in that the Sheriff’s Office and county may never agree on some issues.
“The reality is they had some good points and I thought we needed to listen to them,” Bowman said, noting the Sheriff’s Office had supporters in the room who were “ticked.”
On the other hand, Bowman said he knows Weigel was disappointed he couldn’t deliver longevity bonuses to underpaid employees who have received few raises over the years.
In the memo addressing shortfall adjustments, Weigel also stated he is giving Physical Therapy of Tulsa a three-month notice that he is terminating its contract. And a “radio crisis” at the jail will be alleviated by taking used radios from the operations division once new radios are programmed.
“I’m sure (the memo’s remedies) are designed to make sure we are in compliance with that law,” Bowman said.
Retirements
The last day for Weigel and Bowman was Tuesday. Bowman said he intends to use vacation days until mid- to late February when his retirement will become official. Weigel’s official retirement date is slated for Jan. 31, with him also taking vacation days until that time.
The county’s news release late Tuesday stated that Chief Deputy Michelle Robinette — the highest-ranking remaining employee — will assume the duties of the sheriff immediately.
A successor to Glanz will be decided in a special election this spring. Ten candidates are vying to fill the remainder of the sheriff’s current term.
Smaligo said he personally has asked Weigel to reconsider his decision to retire. Smaligo said Weigel was “the right person” to run the Sheriff’s Office in a time of transition.
“It had always been my hope that Rick Weigel and John Bowman would consider even after the April election offering themselves to stay on board with whoever is elected to help provide their insight and their historical knowledge of the office,” Smaligo said.
Ultimately, Bowman said, both his and Weigel’s retirements are family-oriented. He said they both want to spend more time with their families after calming the stormy waters that had battered the Sheriff’s Office after the Eric Harris shooting and subsequent Robert Bates scandal.
Initially, Bowman said, he planned to retire in October. However, he said Weigel talked him into staying at the Sheriff’s Office to help him “rebuild to an extent” in Glanz’s wake. Bowman said Weigel’s goals were to rebuild public confidence, provide stability for employees and implement a grand jury’s recommendations for improvement.
“We think we’ve made some major in-roads in all three of those areas,” Bowman said.
