Paulding County staff presented several budgeted procurement items during the Oct. 28 work session, including in‑vehicle computers, patrol and service trucks, and specialized security workstations.

Rodriguez, a county finance/IT staff member, said the finance department received nine bids for a fiscal‑year 2026 Panasonic Toughbook purchase and recommended awarding the contract to the lowest responsive bidder, Southern Computer Warehouse, for $621,080.30. “We had 9 bidders on this bid,” Rodriguez said. The purchase is intended to replace aging in‑vehicle public‑safety computers used by the sheriff’s office, fire department, marshals and animal control and was budgeted in the FY26 plan, Rodriguez said.

Staff also presented a budgeted purchase of eight Ford F‑150s through the state contract with Hardy Family Ford for a total of $352,865. Rodriguez and other staff said four of the units will be paid from the general fund and four from water and sewer funds; uses identified included DOT, recreation and community development.

Finally, staff recommended the purchase of seven high‑performance workstations from SHI in the amount of $69,287.33. The machines are used to view the Genetec CCTV video feeds for courthouse security; presenters said the current hardware reached end of manufacturer support and required updated video/graphics capability.

All three purchases were presented as budgeted and staff answered commissioners’ questions; the transcript records presentation and recommendation but does not show a final board vote for these items in the public portion of the work session.