Oklahoma Co. Clerk offers reassurance on report that could impact credit

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma County Clerk Maressa Treat says she's confident her office has done enough to successfully get an FY 2023 financial report past its final hurdle.

Contention over the annual comprehensive final report stems from how vital it is to county spending. It needs to be reviewed by a financial services company called "Moody's," which gives the county its credit bond rating.

That rating is important because it essentially determines the county's creditworthiness.

The county has previously achieved a high quality and low credit risk status, but a shakeup could lead to higher interest rates on bonded debt. That, in turn, potentially hikes up project costs, including bond debt already accrued for a new jail.

Treat said on Wednesday that she has doubts any impact would be significant since construction appears nowhere near starting.

"We don't have all the money in place to build the jail right now," said Treat.

"It has taken us a little bit longer than what we had to have liked to get this particular one done," said Treat.

Treat contributed challenges on that front to many factors during a sit-down conversation with local media partners from the technology and sorting challenges; to dramatic staffing changes.

"Three employees that were in the finance department, including the head of the finance department, all left during that time, before I was ever elected," said Treat, noting that was nearly 100 years of experience combined.

She says staff have to go back and look for files that they didn't create, make sense of incomplete information, double-check that information, and overcommunicate to prevent more challenges.

In June 2024, State Auditor Cindy Byrd's office sent a letter to Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners Chairman Brian Maughan raising concerns about the report not being ready for an audit and how unusual it was.

Treat says that communication with Byrd's office has been great as they've worked towards finally submitting a rough draft on January 29.

"They have been very patient with us, but they've been a really good partner to us," said Treat.

Treat says she's also been in consistent contact with Moody's, which also received a draft copy of the report, and gave the county a 60-day deadline past January 29 for the final version of the report to be completed.

Treat says now her office has to wait on the state audit and will be available to answer any of the state's questions about the report as needed. If there are no questions or concerns, the state should have the audit published around the time of the deadline, in which case Treat's office will share it with Moody's.

"Our team is working as hard as they can to provide that information, and so absolutely, I have no doubt in my mind that our team will be able to do that," said Treat. "And I also feel very strongly that our rating is not going to change and therefore it will not have a negative impact on the jail."

News 4 reached out to Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson for comment Wednesday on his confidence in the process. While Davidson is optimistic about Treat's office, he says he's heard doubts about the rating not taking a hit.

"I have confidence in the fact that her office can get this done and we can put this behind us," said Davidson. "Hopefully, our bond rating is not affected. We have been in touch with bond counsel. Bond counsel does believe that the bond rating will be affected."