Court staff seek $140,735 purchase to meet Office of Court Administration security audit

Leah Alverson, municipal court administrator, told council the court failed an Office of Court Administration (OCA) security audit and needs to upgrade cameras, badge readers and panic‑button integration to meet the audit recommendations. The proposed purchase totals $140,735.59 and would standardize court security on the city’s Verkada camera and access‑control platform, Alverson said. Alverson said the court’s current push‑button entry system is outdated and that panic buttons do not currently alert dispatch. The new badge readers would match Odessa Police Department readers, offer phone‑based authentication and allow staff to use gestures or phone proximity to open doors faster than memorized codes, she said. The system would also enable “home” mode so staff working late could receive building intrusion alerts. Alverson said the audit is a 39‑page physical security assessment by the OCA and that the court “failed in every area” in the prior audit; she said OCA may return sooner because of the court’s prior rating. She reported the court had budgeted partial funding and that roughly $65,000 in existing funds and remaining balance in a building tech/security fund would cover the purchase without a new appropriation. Joyce Bowman of Verkada described deployment timelines and said install could be completed within weeks to a maximum of three months after council approval and order processing. Council members asked whether the audit is mandatory (Alverson said OCA conducts audits for municipal courts and yes, recommendations are required to meet certain standards) and whether the court’s Tyler case‑management issues were resolved (Alverson said Tyler performance and data fragmentation issues had been corrected, though the system still runs slowly until a future upgrade). A council member moved to approve the purchase during the workshop discussion, though no formal vote was recorded in the workshop minutes; staff said they would return to a formal meeting for any ordinance or contract action as required.