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Fire marshal seeks single CJIS‑compliant software, proposes reclassification for office inspector using fire fund
Summary
Fire Marshal Mike Taylor asked the court to approve switching inspection and reporting systems to a CJIS‑compliant vendor (Athena) with a $44,000 one‑time setup fee paid from the fire fund, and said staff member Christie Dickey should be reclassified from clerk to inspector using existing part‑time funds.
Fire Marshal Mike Taylor told Kaufman County commissioners on June 11 that his office intends to consolidate multiple reporting and inspection software packages into a single, CJIS‑compliant system used by other North Texas jurisdictions. Taylor identified the vendor as Athena and said the initial implementation carries a one‑time setup/programming fee of about $44,000, to be paid from the department’s fire fund rather than the general fund.
“We were actually looking at kind of coming in under our budget for their, I know there was 1 part in there we did purchase 2 vehicles from this so that kind of flags us up look like we're over but that was kind of something separate that we did from the fire fund,” Taylor said. He told commissioners the Athena implementation would reduce the county’s annual software costs by roughly $2,000 after the first year and that IT staff had vetted the product for county compatibility.
Taylor also requested an internal reclassification for a current front‑office employee, Christie Dickey, from a clerk role to an inspector role. He said Dickey completed inspector certification and now answers complex permit questions at the counter and by phone; Taylor proposed moving money from the department’s part‑time line into a supplement for her salary so she can be reclassified without increasing overall headcount or drawing from the general fund. He emphasized the additional pay would come from the fire code fund and that the base salary remains on the general fund payroll.
Taylor noted the office has increased enforcement activity against unpermitted businesses in the county and that having one consolidated, CJIS‑compliant system would reduce reporting friction. The court had no formal vote recorded that day on the software contract or the reclassification; Taylor said he would return with a formal contract request if commissioners signaled support.
