County approves hiring replacement deputy and purchase of mobile upload units for squad cars
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Summary
The Clay County Board approved filling a deputy sheriff vacancy and authorized purchase of mobile 'CradlePoint' units (five‑year subscription) to speed squad-car video uploads, with staff saying the equipment will shorten evidence turnaround and reduce deputies’ off‑duty tasks.
The Clay County Board of Commissioners on July 15 approved two related sheriff’s office requests: to hire a full‑time deputy to replace a 17‑year employee who is leaving, and to purchase CradlePoint mobile units to allow squad‑car video to upload automatically from the field.
Hiring: Sheriff Emdin asked for permission to replace a deputy who is resigning after 17 years. The position is budgeted; Commissioner Everegg moved to hire the replacement, Commissioner Bier seconded and the motion carried by voice vote.
CradlePoint purchase and rationale Sheriff Emdin explained CradlePoint units create a cellular/Wi‑Fi connection in squad cars and would allow in‑vehicle video to upload directly to the cloud rather than requiring deputies to return to the law enforcement center or storage sites to download footage. “With the CradlePoints, we would be able to upload our squad car videos from anywhere within Clay County,” the sheriff said. Staff said delays in video uploads have slowed evidence delivery to county and city attorneys and to the courts.
Costs and funding County staff described a five‑year purchase option with a per‑unit five‑year cost of about $2,231 (roughly $200/year for cloud service plus about $1,200 for equipment in staff estimates). Removing monthly SIM cards could produce recurring savings: staff cited current SIM costs of about $1,000–$1,100 per month for the fleet and estimated potential savings of roughly $12,000 per year. Budget staff proposed paying the start-up cost from 2025 wage savings produced by a set of positions that remained unfilled during the year; the sheriff’s office projects those savings are sufficient to cover the five‑year CradlePoint expense.
Commissioner Mulgrew moved approval of the request as presented; Commissioner Bier seconded and the motion carried by voice vote. County attorney staff also supported the purchase as likely to speed evidence access.
What the board recorded as formal actions The meeting minutes record a motion to hire a full‑time deputy (mover: Commissioner Everegg; second: Commissioner Bier; outcome: motion carried) and a separate motion to approve the CradlePoint purchase (mover: Commissioner Mulgrew; second: Commissioner Bier; outcome: motion carried).
Ending: The board approved the personnel replacement and the equipment purchase; staff said the county will pay the CradlePoint cost from current‑year savings and will implement the new upload workflow once equipment is deployed.
