Fiscal Court approves jailer’s purchase of transport vehicle and equipment, funds transferred from reserve

Bracken County Fiscal Court approved the jailer’s request to purchase a new transport vehicle and conversion equipment, and authorized a transfer from reserve to create a vehicle account in the jailer budget to cover the cost.

The jailer told the court the county can acquire a pickup truck priced at $39,997 and vehicle equipment (split cage, lights and other jailer-specific fittings) quoted at $7,212.30. He said the converted vehicle’s split cage would allow secure transport of different custody classifications in a single trip and reduce repeated transports. "If I put a PC individual in with a general population individual, somebody's gonna get hurt," the jailer said, explaining the need for a divided transport configuration.

Commissioners moved, seconded and approved two related actions: (1) purchase of the vehicle and equipment and (2) a budget transfer from reserve to the jailer budget to create a vehicle account and record the $39,997 vehicle and $7,212.30 equipment costs. The court’s roll-call votes were recorded as affirmative.

Why it matters: The purchase responds to operational transport challenges described by the jailer, who said the county sometimes makes multiple trips to transfer inmates due to custody separations and the existing van’s lack of internal dividers. The cost was presented as under the county’s $40,000 bid threshold for vehicles.

Outcome: Two purchase orders were approved (vehicle $39,997; equipment $7,212.30) and a reserve-to-jailer budget transfer was authorized to fund the purchases.