LAWTON – The Comanche County Detention Center will receive a $90,000 financial boost to help cover the cost of running the jail.
The Comanche County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously April 15 to approve Interim Jail Administrator David Weber’s request for additional funds, which will cover the jail’s maintenance and operation expenses for April.
The money will come out of the county’s Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund, a federal program that provides payments to eligible county and tribal governments. Those payments, which were authorized under the federal American Rescue Plan Act, may be used for any governmental purpose except lobbying.
The American Rescue Plan Act, also known as ARPA, was part of the federal government’s effort to help local units of government recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The jail needed additional funds to cover the extra cost of shipping some inmates to other counties, said Commission Chairman Josh Powers. He said he had discussed the issue with County Clerk Carrie Tubbs, who proposed taking the money out of the LATC fund.
“There’s a time limit on it,” Powers said. “It has to be used, and it’s one-time money, so that was the purpose of selecting that fund.”
Tubbs said the LATC fund came alongside the county’s share of ARPA dollars but had fewer restrictions on its use. She added that she had consulted attorney David Floyd, who is advising county officials on issues related to pandemic relief, to make sure the county could use those funds for jail operations.
“You all do have a timeline to spend that money, and you all have not spent anything out of there,” Tubbs said. “So that was my recommendation to Josh (Powers).”
Powers said the jail will continue to need additional money until county officials find a permanent solution for housing inmates, but tapping the LATC fund will save officials from using tax dollars for that purpose.