Vote in state Senate on county government change fails

An Oklahoma state senator tries unsuccessfully to amend a bill to allow Oklahoma and Tulsa counties to change their form of county government.<br/><br/>All 77 counties now are governed by boards consisting

Tuesday, March 7th 2006, 6:10 am

By: News On 6

An Oklahoma state senator tries unsuccessfully to amend a bill to allow Oklahoma and Tulsa counties to change their form of county government.

All 77 counties now are governed by boards consisting of three commissioners.

A home rule government allows for the appointment of a county administrator and a governing board. It also could lead to combined city and county governments.

Oklahoma City state Senator Debbe Leftwich said there was an overwhelming display of county commissioners and their employees in the gallery Monday. But Leftwich says the amendment wouldn't have affected the manner in which they conduct business in any form or fashion.

Her amendment applied only to cities with a population of 550,000 more residents, limiting it to Tulsa and Oklahoma City.