The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is checking records to determine if the county solid waste system’s extensive use of overtime during the past year rises to a criminal offense.
The newspaper has obtained a search warrant – a public record – in which OSBI agent Devin Black got the court’s permission to search minutes of the solid waste board and any summaries of executive sessions, whether publicly released or not.
In seeking the search warrant, Black said District Attorney Mark Matloff requested OSBI assistance on June 17. The McCurtain County Commissioners’ Office had contacted him with concerns about solid waste manager James Womack and his secretary, Shae Tubbs, receiving large amounts of overtime over an extended period.
District Attorney Investigator Clay Hattabaugh obtained payroll information showing every employee had received overtime beginning Jan. 1, 2024 until May 2025. The amounts shown were largely similar in overtime worked for each employee.
Black found that Womack and Tubbs’ records showed similar overtime hours worked (with Womack getting $58.98 per hour of overtime and Tubbs getting $39.93 per hour).
Black said handwritten employee time cards, however, did not show Womack and Tubbs working overtime during January 2024 through February 2025.
A compensation and hours report from the county clerk’s office during the same periods showed Tubbs and Womack receiving between eight and 16 hours of overtime pay each cycle.
This trend was replicated by every employee.
OSBI forensic auditor Leslie Pfrehm requested board minutes from the solid waste board of trustees detailing all approvals for overtime, pay raises and pay rates.
During the past few months, all three of the solid waste trust board members appointed by county commissioners have resigned and been replaced.
The final appointment for District 3 was made just this week.
As with all county entities receiving county sales tax money, the solid waste system has benefitted by the county’s tourism growth and the steady increase in sales from it.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, records show the solid waste system received $$2,908,040 in sales tax money. For the most recent year that just ended on June 30, solid waste received $3,563,592.01. That’s an increase of 22.5 percent over four years.
Records show that even with the last 18 months of overtime payments being made, the solid waste system this week has more than $2.85 million in the bank.
The most recent pay period for the solid waste organization, dated July 24, shows a total of $8,657.28 in overtime pay, including $943.68 for Womack and $622.88 for Tubbs.
No charges have been filed in the case, records show. The investigation is continuing.
Since the Oklahoma attorney general’s office recently had investigators in the county looking into other matters, the newspaper asked county officials if the AG’s office was also asked to look into the solid waste system.
It was not. The investigation was already under way at the time, and the attorney general often asks the OSBI to look into matters just as the local district attorney did.
Overtime pay for 2025 has benefitted from the recent “Big Beautiful Bill,” a provision that was first proposed and recently signed into law by President Trump.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025, overtime pay is exempt from federal income tax, but not entirely. It’s structured as a deduction, not a full exemption.
The extra “time-and-a-half” pay is deducted from taxable income.
For example, if a pay rate is $20 per hour and the overtime rate is $30 per hour, the $10 per hour difference can be deducted.
This makes overtime pay far more desirable than it has been in the past.
