OKMULGEE COUNTY, Okla. — An Okmulgee County Board of Commissioners meeting is raising a few eyebrows after the board voted on Monday to move forward with a call for an audit of its 911 operations.
There were a number of firefighters present during the board meeting at the courthouse.
After the meeting concluded, FOX23 spoke with board commissioner Dr. G. Erik Zoellner and Beggs Mayor Jacob Branson, who is also a firefighter.
They were both asked about the audit.
Branson said he is concerned 911 operations will eventually move over to the county jail and the audit might be a prelude to this possibility.
The board voted to hire a financial firm to conduct the audit. They’ve also agreed to hire an HR Professional to assist with a staffing analysis.
Reports from their Jan. 23 meeting indicated the board voted to have two parallel audits performed on the 911 center, one being a financial audit by an outside firm, and the other would be a personnel audit done by Shannon Clark, who heads the Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority (OCCJA).
Some firefighters said this raised alarms for them.
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FOX23 asked Zoellner and Branson about the need for an audit, and the concerns:
FOX23: “Is it something that’s required by law, is that why you guys are asking for an audit?”
Zoellner: “Yes.”
FOX23: “When’s the last time there was an audit?”
Zoellner: “I don’t know that there has been, that’s why we want to do it.”
Zoellner said their attorneys are advising them to do an audit, as required by law.
Zoellner: “We love Okmulgee County, we want the very best for Okmulgee County, nothing nefarious is going on.”
FOX23: “You’re not looking at moving it underneath the jail? Because that’s what they’re worried about.”
Zoellner: “Ma’am you need to talk to the Jail Board Trust, that would be my encouragement.”
Zoellner: “There’s a jail trust and to my knowledge they’ve had no discussions regarding that.”
FOX23 spoke with Branson at Beggs City Hall following the meeting:
Branson: “If the audit’s actually what’s going on it could be a good thing. I mean to me an audit would be looking at what agencies use the County 911 service, and exactly how many calls do those agencies get and how much money are those agencies pay in a year to utilize the county 911 system. But I honestly feel that that’s just a way in, to get control of this deal, to where it will go back to the jail. We just feel we’ve been down that road before and it’s not good.”
He said he believes the 911 system is now in the best shape it’s been in years.
FOX23 did reach out to Shannon Clark to find out why he was tasked with helping to perform an audit, as he oversees the jail.
According to the public information officer Chris Cook, the Board of Trustees for the jail has never been asked to have the OCCJA take over operation of the 911 center.
The board also went into Executive Session at one point during Monday’s meeting, but said they could not disclose what was discussed at that time.