County public‑safety staff and law‑enforcement representatives told Madison County commissioners that the jail, prisoner transport and 9‑1‑1 infrastructure require coordinated, long‑term planning and likely significant capital investment.

Speakers at the session described an aging jail and holding facilities, logistical problems escorting inmates through public areas, staffing shortages for transport and jail duties, and recurring failures of backup systems that have disrupted courthouse operations. The sheriff’s office representative argued that locating a consolidated public‑safety/9‑1‑1 center near the sheriff’s facilities would reduce duplicative equipment and paperwork and simplify prisoner movement.

County speakers raised an implementation timeline and cost risk tied to the state’s NextGen 9‑1‑1 mandates. County staff cautioned that NextGen requirements — equipment, software and facility work — will arrive as a new cost burden over the next two to five years. One county official stated that, with mandated upgrades and interoperable infrastructure, “in the next 3 to 5 years, we’re going to end up spending 10 plus million dollars on 9 11 stuff.”

Separately, county staff described immediate operational costs: the jail’s medical and transport work has increased contract and transport costs, in part because of rising numbers of high‑acuity medical and mental‑health cases. County staff said their contracted jail medical costs have run higher than earlier baseline estimates (the baseline had been about $28,000 per month; recent months were described as exceeding $30,000 per month). Staffing shortages remain in patrol, dispatch and the jail, with several positions short‑staffed but slowly being filled.

Infrastructure failures prompted discussion of backup power. County staff reported the courthouse backup generator is old and has failed repeatedly; an estimate to install a building‑scale generator that would power the courthouse was described as about $280,000, with an insurance or disaster recovery appeal expecting roughly $110,000 in FEMA reimbursement if approved. County staff said an earlier FEMA application was partly denied and was being appealed.

Officials emphasized that planning for facility consolidation (courtroom, jail, 9‑1‑1, records) and long‑range financing will be more efficient if done together rather than by ad hoc repairs. Commissioners and staff discussed preparing a written memo with consolidated needs, cost estimates and timelines to aid decisions about bonding or other financing.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; staff and commissioners agreed to continue refining cost estimates and facility plans.