Ohio County Fiscal Court approves transfer of ankle-monitoring program to new local company

Jimmy Cantrell, who identified himself as with the county arts program that runs ARCH reentry services, asked the Ohio County Fiscal Court on March 24 to let a newly formed local firm take over the county’s ankle-monitoring and drug-testing work.

Cantrell told the court the monitoring work has “grown and become more effective,” but that the program’s monitoring duties have placed an unsustainable burden on ARCH staff. He said the monitoring bill for the month was $2,638.95 and that ARCH had a past-due balance of about $5,152.50 from clients who did not pay. “It has created some overtime and so forth and it's almost as if we've become a monitoring program instead of a resource program,” Cantrell said.

The court discussed a proposal to transfer monitoring and drug-testing responsibilities, terminate the county’s existing lease with the current equipment vendor, and allow a new private company, Satellite Securities, to provide monitoring and collect fees directly from clients. Cantrell said he helped form Satellite Securities and that he had stepped away from the company’s formation to avoid a conflict of interest. The court also heard that Kentucky law requires 24-hour monitoring coverage for clients on ankle monitors, a factor that contributed to staffing and overtime costs.

Officials and staff described financial and operational benefits if Satellite Securities assumes monitoring. Cantrell and other officials said the private firm would collect fees from clients and could handle after-hours calls and other monitoring duties now handled by ARCH staff. Cantrell said the change could allow ARCH to reduce staffing levels over time and refocus on reentry services.

Court members moved to allow ARCH to end the lease with the current vendor, to authorize the transfer of monitoring to Satellite Securities, and to permit county officials to execute documents related to terminating the lease and transferring responsibilities. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The court did not approve any specific county funding commitment for Satellite Securities in the meeting; officials said the private firm plans to bill clients directly and that ARCH could assist with payments for indigent residents in limited cases. Cantrell and others said they had discussed the proposal with the county treasurer, the judge executive and the county attorney.

The court also heard that Satellite Securities plans to offer additional services and bid on local security work, which could create local jobs.

Court members indicated the change would also remove ongoing liability and overtime expense from the county’s ARCH budget, though they did not quantify future costs the county might still cover for indigent clients. The court did not discuss a written contract with Satellite Securities during this meeting.

The court approved the motion by voice vote.