BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott made a presentation about the upcoming vote to raise the county’s sales tax at Tuesday night’s Broken Arrow City Council meeting.

The money would pay for a $13.5 million settlement following a woman’s death inside the county jail in 2021.

Sheriff Elliott told the people of Broken Arrow that live in Wagoner County that he owns up to this tragic accident, but the best way to handle the settlement will be to vote ‘Yes’ for the sales tax increase or it will revert to an increase in property taxes, which many are not in favor of.

“I own it. I want everyone to hear this: I own this. I’m not pointing fingers; it’s my responsibility,” said Sheriff Elliott. “We have to come together as a county to figure out how to pay for this. Now, I concur with the Board of County Commissioners. I believe the best way to do this is with a sales tax and if we don’t get this passed, it will revert to a property tax.”

Sheriff Elliott urged the community to vote for the sales tax, saying it is the best choice.

“I think that there weren’t enough options explored to mitigate some of this,” said concerned resident Joshua Stenrous. “The responsibility completely fell under the Sheriff’s Office and then the County of Wagoner having to be penalized for the mistakes within that department. Why are the taxes falling back to the county rather than saving in other areas?”

Wagoner County had a Frequently Asked Questions page on the new tax on their website.

It says under state law, they can only pay the settlement through sales or property taxes.

Sheriff Elliott said they have already made changes within the jail after the death.

“My responsibility to the citizens of this county moving forward is to assume they’re doing everything. We’re partnering with the Board of Commissioners to make sure this never happens again,” said Elliott.

The county plans to add a public forum on the tax to the agenda for their next County Commissioner meeting ahead of the vote on Feb. 11.