None, Smaligo says often, can tell the sheriff who to hire or fire or how much to pay his employees.

The proposed budget for FY 2017 is $38.1 million. Most of the revenue comes from a dedicated .25-percent sales tax, which is expected to raise a little over $27 million in the coming budget year.

The other primary revenue source is called the county contribution fund but is actually money paid to the jail, mostly for holding prisoners for other entities such as the city of Tulsa, the Department of Corrections and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Proceeds from all sales taxes, including the jail tax, have flattened just about everywhere. Contract revenue has gone down, chiefly because the Department of Corrections is no longer keeping prisoners at the jail as long. DOC revenue has fallen from almost $3.6 million in 2013 to around $1 million this year.

Tulsa County and the jail board are preparing a lawsuit against the DOC for $9 million they say is owed, and to raise the $27 per diem they say doesn’t cover the cost of housing a prisoner. Robinette said she expects more revenue from ICE in the coming year, too.