State spending choices have to be justified, not political

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rick Rose, the state’s chief working officer and director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), introduced to Gov. Kevin Stitt final week that he would step down from state service and return to personal regulation observe.

The determination was made earlier than Attorney General Gentner Drummond despatched his letter to the Governor.

COO Rose stated his determination was based mostly on conversations along with his household and future in thoughts however famous the legal professional common is now utilizing his exit as a chance to attain political factors forward of an election yr.

The legal professional common’s letter to the Governor comes after COO Rose despatched a letter final month to the AG’s Office and several other different companies, asking them to justify latest company development and buying requests. To date, OMES has but to obtain a response from the legal professional common.

“It’s my job to make sure taxpayer money is spent wisely and on services that benefit Oklahomans,” COO Rose stated. “When a request of this size comes through my office, it is my job to question it. The Attorney General’s Office has nearly doubled in both headcount and salaries since 2023. I am still awaiting justification as to why this is and why more taxpayer money is needed to purchase more vehicles.”

COO Rose emphasised that the one directive from the Governor associated to the matter was to guard taxpayers and guarantee companies are accountable. He famous he has had a number of conversations with the Attorney General’s Office – together with a direct name with AG Drummond – relating to the car buy request.

During these discussions, COO Rose questioned why Drummond’s workplace had almost doubled in employees from 190 full-time staff and a payroll of round $16 million to a present depend of 342 and a payroll of roughly $30 million since he took workplace in January 2023.

“My role is to keep agency growth under control and focused on mission,” COO Rose stated. “We can’t have unchecked growth in government. The unusually large request for vehicles raised many questions of concern on my end. I believe in checks and balances in government. No one should have unfettered power, and no one is above the law. The statute requires me to confirm that any new vehicle purchase is based on genuine need, not unchecked governmental growth.”

The Attorney General’s Office already possesses 83 autos. The further request for one more 10 autos represented a rise of greater than 10%, one thing no different company had requested underneath COO Rose’s tenure.

COO Rose famous any justifications offered by the AG’s Office overlapped with work already dealt with by companies corresponding to OBN, OSBI and OMMA.

“While the AG claims to be the state’s top law enforcement officer, that role has traditionally been the state’s top attorney. Law enforcement makes arrests – the AG prosecutes.”