County to apply for body-worn camera and dispatch system grants

At their regularly scheduled meeting, the Morris County Commissioner’s Court voted unanimously to apply for three grants in the coming months.

The first grant the commissioner’s approved was for the Click It or Ticket campaign for the Memorial Day period of May 23 to June 5. The county, according to County Auditor Shanna Solomon, has been approved for a $2000 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation to reimburse for man hours during the program. According to Solomon, the county has never participated in the program before. The program puts more officers on patrol during peak times for the purpose of ensure seatbelt usage among drivers and passengers. The grant will help offset the cost of paying those extra patrols for their overtime hours. Following a motion by County Judge Lynda Munkres, which was seconded by Commissioner Dennis Allen, the court voted unanimously to apply for the TxDOT grant.

The second grant was part of a Resolution for the Criminal Justice Division to purchase body-worn cameras for the sheriff’s department. According to Solomon, the resolution and grant would include policies on camera usage, what is to be recorded and what is not, and when and how the evidence can be used in court. The resolution also includes that the County Attorney will assist in the writing of the camera policies and using the evidence from the cameras in court. Solomon stated that there was a preapplication process, which Sheriff Jack Martin has already completed, and the county had been approved for nine cameras and the server. The cameras the county would be purchasing would come to a total of $9,332.50. The grant, if received, would provide $7,466 to go towards the purchase of the cameras and server. The county would then provide the remaining amount of $1,866.50 from the Sheriff ’s Seizure and Forfeiture Fund. The cameras would replace ones the department already use, which, according to Deputy Robbie Gray, are ok, but do not offer a high quality video or sound, and do not pick up well in dark conditions. Judge Munkres made a motion to apply for the grant, which was seconded by Commissioner Allen, and approved unanimously by the court.

The final grant proposal brought to the court by Solomon was for a Computer-Aided Dispatch system. Currently, according to Solomon, the dispatcher writes down the information for each call, then records them into the log book. The cards and log book then must be stored, which causes an extra expense. Additionally, the current storage space the county utilizes is full, according to Solomon. In addition to the time it takes to manually record each call, if a license, identification, registration, or address must be looked up, dispatch must then look that information separately. With the Computer-Aided Dispatch system, all calls would be record electronically, dramatically decrease the time for recording as well as the needed storage space. All the digital files would be stored on an on-site server. The CAD system would also electronic look up any needed information for a particular call. Solomon explained that the grant must be applied for by Feb. 26, but would not begin until October, if the county was accepted. The total system would cost around $42,000, and the hope is that the entire amount would be covered by the grant. Commissioner Weldon Lilley made the motion to approve the resolution for the CAD system. The motion was seconded by Allen, and passed unanimously.

In other business, the court approved the contract with C & S Commco for maintenance of the Samsung phone systems. Maintenance and service is covered under the contract. The court also unanimously approved the renewal of Precinct 3 lease with Wayne Cason. Following recognition by Judge Munkres of the commissioner’s continuing education for 2015, the court was adjourned until their next regular meeting.