Cleveland County's sheriff spars with commissioners over budget approvals. What we know

NORMAN — A tense discussion on whether to adopt a Cleveland County sheriff's budget was held mere days after the embattled official won reelection.

A 5-to-3 majority of Cleveland County budget board members voted Friday to accept an overall county budget of $61.8 million for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year. Most of that meeting was spent debating an increased budget request for Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason, whose office fell under intense scrutiny after he was accused of overspending in recent months.

Amason had requested Monday that his office receive $22 million for the next fiscal year, arguing he needed that amount to keep up with cost increases from inflation and the requirement to keep the county jail adequately staffed.

But Friday, board members approved his office an overall $19.75 million budget for FY 2025, with $11.45 million of general "ad valorem" funds, $3 million in public safety sales tax funds, and at least $5.3 million in cash funds derived from service fees and commissary revenue related to the jail.

Long-standing Cleveland County District 1 Commissioner Rod Cleveland and longtime county Treasurer Jim Reynolds voted "no" on moving forward with the budget Friday, as did the reelected Amason, but they were overruled by the majority.

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The Republican sheriff — who defeated both his challengers in primary elections Tuesday with 53% of the vote — was unsatisfied with the approved budget, asking commissioners and board members to tell him what needed to be cut in his requested $22 million proposal.

Cleveland mentioned a letter Amason's attorney sent to commissioners last month, which showed the sheriff's estimated cost of needs reflecting a $3.9 million reduction from last year's fiscal budget. Earlier this month, budget board members diverted more than $3 million in "bailout" funds to Amason's department in order to meet payroll and pay other outstanding bills.

Amason has long claimed his department was not adequately funded during the 2024 fiscal year in the first place, and also argued that a failure to provide him the requested $22 million budget would amount to "refusing to fund public safety," to which Cleveland immediately disagreed.

"I know what the sheriff's office needs because I'm the sheriff, and we need money to have deputies protecting the residents," Amason told the budget board.

But Cleveland maintained that the core functions of the sheriff's office as provided by statute, including operations of the jail and protection of the courthouse, were still being funded with Friday's decision. He also reiterated that Amason's office was approved for an 18.36 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year, so the newly approved budget for FY 2025 was still an increase from last year.

"He gave us a letter where he lays out where he's going to do reductions, and, I mean, he's the manager of it," Cleveland said. "He manages it, and he's the one responsible for public safety. More money doesn't make you save — managing that money does."

Amason showed a budget presentation Monday touting, among other changes, a significant reduction of his executive staff and a consolidation of the office’s fleet and dispatch. But Cleveland and Reynolds said neither of them received copies of Amason’s presentation so they could more closely review it.

"This is not a personal thing against Chris Amason," Cleveland added. "This is not pro-law enforcement or anti-law enforcement. It is about providing the best services with the taxpayer interests in mind."

More: Part of a special audit into the Cleveland County sheriff's office is out. What to know

Reynolds, who had been vocally concerned about Amason's overspending since wintertime, said he voted no on the overall FY 2025 budget because he was hoping further negotiations could be done. But other budget board members, including retiring County Clerk Tammy Belinson, said they were running out of time to adopt the budget and file necessary paperwork with the state auditor's office.

"Despite his words to the contrary, Sheriff Amason will receive a substantial 7-8% increase for this year's budget," Reynolds said. "To reward his fiscal mismanagement with additional tax dollars goes against my convictions."

"With that said, I am most proud of fellow board members Rusty Grissom, Jacob McHughes, Marilyn Williams, Doug Warr and Tammy Belinson, who, with deadlines looming, did what was necessary to pass this budget. They are great conservative leaders who deserve the utmost respect."

Although Amason won reelection earlier this week, the controversy surrounding his time in office may not be over. The second part of a special audit, requested of State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd by Cleveland County commissioners and Amason himself, will examine various areas of the sheriff's spending throughout FY 2024 and is expected to come out later this year.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Cleveland County budget battle ahead of fiscal year 2025 ends Friday