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County manager to seek ordinance change to allow licensed armed security as RFP for security services is issued
Summary
County manager announced an RFP for county security services and proposed adding an exemption to the county’s law-enforcement ordinance to permit licensed armed private security; Commissioner Connolly moved to add the exception and the manager said she would implement the change.
During the March 10 manager’s report, county staff announced an RFP for security services covering board meetings, the farmers market, courthouse coverage and Department of Social Services needs and said the county intends to solicit bids this week.
The manager told commissioners that the county’s current law-enforcement ordinance (Ordinance No. 4) — which prohibits carrying deadly weapons on county property with specified exemptions — does not explicitly exempt licensed armed private security personnel and asked the board to consider adding that exemption so the county may continue to contract with armed, licensed security firms.
Commissioner Connolly moved to add an exception for armed private security services “pursuant to the chapter that we read” (referring to state licensing oversight). Connolly said such an exception would let the county “move forward” and ensure contracted security personnel are appropriately equipped. The manager responded that she would implement the change, saying, “Thank you so much. I'll go ahead and get that done.” The transcript excerpt does not show a formal board vote on amending the ordinance on the record.
The RFP for security services was described as allowing firms to bid on the entire package or on specific service areas. The manager said the county uses multiple vendors for different facilities and expects respondents to propose pricing and services for one or several contract areas.
The transcript records no formal vote on an ordinance amendment in the provided excerpt; the manager indicated she would pursue the ordinance change and finalize the RFP issuance.
