WAGONER CO. — In person, and on social media, Wagoner County residents voice frustration and anger over how a $13.5 million dollar judgment against the County gets paid.
"In a nutshell," said Wagoner County Clerk, Lori Hendricks, "we have a judgment against the County that is a result of a death that we had in the jail in 2021 and the family of that individual filed suit against and it was settled out of court and the total amount of the settlement was $13.5 million dollars."
Crystal Hayner works two jobs in Wagoner and lives in Wagoner County. She doesn't believe County residents should shoulder the settlement's cost.
"There some people that are struggling in this town already and now they're gonna have to pay more taxes for someone else's responsibility," she said, "I don't think that's fair."
Hendricks explains the County's insurance only covers one million dollars of any one settlement so County Commissioners are giving residents a choice to fund the rest by voting to approve a quarter penny sales tax increase for 15 years. If the vote fails, the money would come from an increase in property taxes.
Amy Matthews owns a business in the City of Wagoner and lives in the County. She favors an increase in the sales tax. "I feel like it would be spread out more evenly among all the voters in the county versus only property owners."
The County provided 2 News with a breakdown of how much property taxes would likely go up in the first year if the sales tax proposal fails:
- $100,000 home: $20.39
- $200,000 home: $40.77
- $300,000 home: $61.16
If the sales taxes pass, a family spending $200 a week on taxable items would pay an additional $26 a year in County sales taxes.
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