It’s been almost two years since Ottawa County was ordered to pay $33 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, a ruling that sent shockwaves throughout the state and was a jarring wakeup call for counties to take immediate action to protect themselves from similar judgments and to make sure that when a county is found liable, that it has sufficient coverage to insulate its taxpayers from having to foot the bill.
That, of course, is easier said than done.
At last Monday’s weekly meeting of the Sequoyah County Commissioners, District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers provided an update from last week’s executive board meeting of the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma (ACCO).
Rogers, who serves as ACCO president, said county insurance coverage was discussed, and that state Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, attended the meeting to express his concerns about one of the five counties ACCO could not include among the counties insured for fiscal year 2026.
“He brought in some other folks with other insurance companies that are trying to possibly insure them,” Rogers said of Humphrey’s visit. “We did have five that they agreed to let us lower the coverage to $250,000. The insurance company had some concerns … [but] she seems to think that she can get them covered for $1 million. We said, ‘Well, if you can do that, then there’s no need for us to even address the $250,000, because that’s the maximum coverage on all of us. So if she can get that done, that’ll be great.”
Rogers did not name the five counties that were the subject of the lower coverage, but what happened with Ottawa County serves as a harbinger for not only counties, but for insurance companies as well.
“On the insurance, if it’s capped at $250,000, are they going to pay multiple lawsuits a year or just one?” District 1 Commissioner Ray Watts asked Rogers.
“That $250,000 just covers the one year. To me, with the deductible and stuff, I’d almost think we’d be better off to just self-insure — put $300,000 in the bank and just self-insure,” Rogers replied.
Rogers explained that in the wake of the Ottawa County verdict, an assessment of the state’s 77 counties was conducted to evaluate a seven-year period. The assessment looked at the number of lawsuits brought against counties, if counties were hit with repetitive lawsuits and corrective measures counties pursued.
“So that’s how we ended up losing the five. We didn’t have a choice in the matter. It’s, basically, the reinsurer wasn’t going to reinsure us if those five were still part of the self-insurance group. Originally it was going to be 10, but they did allow us to lower the other five’s coverage to $250,000 because they were trying to take steps to correct their situation,” Rogers said.
“What’s amazing about that is the association had hired a law enforcement liaison to go out to the jails and try to help direct them in the manner they needed to go to correct their situation, correct the problems. But they weren’t very receptive to somebody coming in from the outside and helping there.
“But once it got to the point that we had to remove them, all three county commissioners and the sheriff showed up to that meeting. It’s a shame that it got to that point, to get their attention and make them understand, ‘Guys, this is a serious situation.’ We can’t punish the other 70 counties because a few won’t adhere to what needs to be done to fix the situation,” Rogers said. “And the last thing we wanted to do was to have to boot anybody off of that.”
Rogers emphasized that even if a county is not part of those insured, ACCO remains available to help counties in any way it can.
“We want them to be successful. We want to get them back into the [insurance] pool. So it’s not that we forgot about them. We’re still working with them to try to get them to correct the situation, get them back in the pool,” Rogers said.
“That was a tough decision for the board, but our hands were tied. We really didn’t have a choice in the matter.” Regional jails?
Rogers reported that ACCO also met with Attorney General Gentner Drummond, and that regionalizing jails was discussed.
“I don’t know of one county commissioner that would be in opposition to that,” Rogers said. “It would go from 77 county jails to, basically, 23 — you’re going to have Oklahoma County, Tulsa County, Cleveland County, a lot of bigger counties, they’re going to want to keep their own — so that could be a great deal.”
Rogers said current mental health issues were also part of the discussion, and consideration was given to having a mental health facility adjacent to a regional jail to address issues that may arise.
Watts, however, said what many were surely thinking.
“I don’t see how they’re going to house all the prisoners,” Watts said of the regional jail proposal.
“It would have to be a very large facility,” Rogers admitted. “One of the things that we addressed was, we wanted to talk about what they pay us to house the DOC inmates, which is $27, and they passed new legislation to up it to $35 a day. But the state facility would get anywhere from $80 to $100 a day. We just want a fair playing field. We don’t want things just dumped in our laps, because it can be. So we just want a fair playing field.”
Grant money
Rogers reported that “the money is there again for this year” for the sheriff ’s grant, which was one of Rogers’ concerns. But he’d like an important change.
“I’m trying to push them to pass legislation to take the sunset off of that. You can’t budget something if you’re not guaranteed [the money] every year. So that puts us in a bind, puts the county commissioners in a bind. The AG was gracious enough to allow us to utilize it as a stipend versus pay raises, because you come out here and give all our deputies a pay raise, and then you don’t get the money next year and you take it from them, you’re probably not going to have any law enforcement running the streets. It’s not a good situation,” he said. “So we are pushing to have them to possibly take the sunset off of that and guarantee that each year, versus them having to apply for the grant each year, and that’s been a long time coming. Man, our deputies, I’m just grateful that they’ve been gracious enough to stay with us as long as they have for the pay that they’ve received. They absolutely deserve good pay for what they do.”
Tourism windfall
Apart from his role with ACCO, Rogers said he received a text Monday from Gena Woods (formerly Gena McPhail), executive director for Oklahoma Ozarks Tourism Association, providing an update on last weekend’s Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Lake Tenkiller.
Rogers reported that three countries — U.S., Canada and Mexico — were represented at the two-day event, as well as 147 entries representing 28 states.
While the turnout for a nationally recognized brand was good news, even better news was that Woods said many of the participants stayed in Gore, Paradise Hill and Vian, which means the 4% countywide lodging tax voters approved is benefiting the county to an even greater extent.
The Bassmaster Junior Series and the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series were both held March 30 at Lake Tenkiller, and the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite is June 12-15 at Lake Tenkiller. Among the tourism projects already in place or being targeted include the 2026 Bassmaster High School and Collegiate Championships, a major bass fishing competition that showcases top high school and college-level anglers. The competition will be on Robert S. Kerr Reservoir at Cherokee Nation Sallisaw Creek State Park (Dwight Mission Road at East 1118 Road).
Woods was previously director of tourism for Tour Tahlequah and Explore Cherokee County, positions from which she orchestrated significant advancements in local tourism initiatives. She played a pivotal role in advocating for Cherokee County’s lodging tax, driving increased tourism figures and economic contributions throughout the region.
Her vision for OOTA emphasizes comprehensive marketing efforts aimed at showcasing the area’s diverse attractions and natural resources.
