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Commission approves training travel and equipment for sheriff’s office; officials flag juvenile-detention price surge
Summary
The commission approved out-of-state travel for a deputy and the sheriff and authorized purchases of in-car camera systems and a radar unit; commissioners also discussed a jump in juvenile-detention per-diem rates and asked staff to explore contractual bed guarantees with neighboring Benson County.
Sheriff Lang told commissioners he had two out-of-state travel requests and multiple equipment purchases and briefed the board on rising juvenile-detention costs.
The commission approved travel for Deputy Ali Jockey to attend a professional development course in Saint Paul, with registration and ammunition paid by the special incident unit commander and lodging/meal costs borne by the sheriff’s budget. The commission also approved travel for Sheriff Lang to attend the MOCIC annual conference in Wisconsin; registration and lodging were supported by the commission without recorded opposition.
On equipment, commissioners accepted a bid to purchase two in-car camera systems at $13,076 (the lower bid with a one-year warranty considered acceptable by the commission) and approved purchase of a radar unit at $3,640. "There's a motion to accept the bid for $13,076 for the 2 camera systems," the chair said; the motion carried by voice vote.
Sheriff Lang also raised a concern that the juvenile detention center in Grand Forks raised its per-diem charge from $225 per day to $350 per day. "The juvenile detention center in Grand Forks is up in its rate from $225 per day to $350 per day," he said, and described difficulty finding bed space without contracts. Commissioners directed the sheriff to explore a joint arrangement with Benson County to negotiate or secure guaranteed bed space at a lower rate and to return with recommendations. No binding contract was approved at the meeting; the sheriff said he would investigate and bring options back to the commission.
The purchases and travel were approved by voice vote; no roll-call tallies with individual commissioner names were recorded in the transcript.
