Sequoyah County Commissioners Beau Burlison, Jim Rogers and Ray Watts may not quote William Shakespeare as they conduct county business, but the heavy burden they shoulder caused by their leadership responsibilities are aptly characterized by the Bard of Avon’s quote from his historical drama Henry IV: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

The commissioners were not given a crown when they were elected to serve, but they did inherit the difficulties and incubus that often result in sleepless nights and the fiduciary worriment that accompany their roles as the county’s highest officials.

Those attending Tuesday’s commissioners meeting were provided a glimpse into their world of administration, which often bears the headaches born from budgetary confines weighed against county priorities.

Among the concerns currently facing the commissioners are the looming financial strain associated with debilitating lawsuits, mandates regarding indigent burials, spiraling increases in insurance deductibles, disruptions from massive employee turnover and safeguarding fiscal solvency.

“The thing of it is, is you gotta have people in leadership that, sometimes you have to just say, ‘Hey, look guys, we have to address this’,” Rogers advised his colleagues. “Until you have people that are actually concerned about it and wanna do something about it, I don’t know that it’s ever gonna change.

“But a lot of it all comes down to funding. I look at some of these budgets, some of these lawsuits, and I look at what that sheriff ’s office was budgeted for the sheriff ’s department and the jail. We’re probably fortunate that we have I-40 right here that helps us a bunch,” he said.

“It’s a never-ending nightmare.” While Sequoyah County has avoided lawsuits that have pushed others to the brink of bankruptcy — Ottawa County’s recent $33 million judgment and Watts’ revelation that “I know of a lawsuit fixing to come down on another county … it’s gonna be big” — keep the commissioners up at night as they work to ensure Sequoyah County is not the next casualty.

“It affects the other counties, your premiums going up, just like our deductibles are going up right now,” Rogers observed.

“Our insurance deductibles are gonna go up. They are $25, and they go up to $50 now. I think it caps at $100. So it’s just that all the claims that we have predominantly come from our jails. Probably about 95% come from our jails. We got to a point where we had, I guess, unlimited coverage, then it was capped at $2 million,” he said. “I know you guys have heard me talk about Ottawa County that lost a $33 million lawsuit. Well, the county only pays $2 million of that. So the rest of that would go into a sinking fund, which has to be paid in like three years, but I think it was gonna be like an additional $48 million, so there’s no telling what that’s going to do to the property owners there, and three years is the max they have to pay that. It’s a tough situation right now.”

Rogers noted that Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma (ACCO) hired a representative who is visiting and evaluating jails in all the counties in an effort to minimize legal exposure that result in lawsuits.

“There’s just a lot that goes on that a lot of people aren’t aware of if it’s not happening in your county, but it still affects us when it happens in the other counties. Now they’re looking at possibly going down to just a million-dollar coverage, and then there may be some jails that we may not be able to insure, and then that’s gonna fall on the back of the other counties,” he said.

Rogers is also president of ACCO, which has the benefit of him being in on the ground floor when there’s new information for county commissioners.

Unfortunately, not all revelations are good news. One item from the most recent ACCO meeting concerned Senate Bill 1931, which established provisions for a county’s duties for overseeing of the indigent and a county’s responsibility for indigent burials. The bill becomes effective Nov. 1.

“At our state board meeting last week for Senate Bill 1931, they did amend that to where we’re still gonna be responsible for the burials, but there was a lot more to that bill, as far as taking care of the indigent,” Rogers reported. “That would really put a lot [of financial strain] on the counties. They did get that amended, but we will still be responsible for the indigent burial.”

Other day-to-day considerations include compensation, especially for the sheriff ’s office, which includes jail personnel.

“I know the last budget, I earmarked a little more money — and Ray and Beau signed off on that as well — for our jailers’ pay,” Rogers said. “We had an 84% turnover ratio in the jail, because they could go to Braum’s and go work at McDonald’s and make as much money and not worry about being abused on a daily basis.”

Yet Rogers remains optimistic. “We’re very fortunate to have one of the premier jail operations here in our county.”

And recent legislation will provide a financial boost for counties. House Bill 2914 appropriates $18 million for the upcoming budget, creating the Oklahoma Sheriff ’s Office Funding Assistance Grant program. The measure allows counties to apply for grants of up to $300,000 to offset operational costs, and also sets base pay for sheriffs at a minimum of $44,000.

“Right now they’re working on increasing salaries so we can hire qualified people,” Rogers said, but tempered his enthusiasm.

“Here’s my concern with that. If they’re gonna pass that, they need to make sure they fund this and don’t put a sunset on it. Don’t do this and say, ‘This one year you’re granted this,’ and then the next year come back and say, ‘Well, we don’t have the funding for that’,” Rogers warned, predicting the financial hardship counties would face and the resulting budget cuts due to reduced funding.

“So I can tell you at the state board meeting, our major concern is, ‘Are you guys going to make sure you fund this? It’s something that’s going to be funded from now on and not sunset on it.’ Because if you don’t, you talk about creating a real headache for everybody.”

And new legislation with potential financial benefits may be on the horizon.

“From my understanding, they’ve got a new state question coming out for public infrastructure fund to add 10 mils for that,” Rogers said. “It says 100% approval.

“There’s a lot going on right now” — for those county commissioners who don’t already have enough going on.”