Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Technology topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Quorum Court approves sheriffs office grants for body cameras, in-car equipment and a training reimbursement
Summary
Van Buren County accepted a $50,000 body-camera grant, an $88,470 in-car equipment grant (with $9,130 local match) and approved a $5,428.80 payout reimbursement to the City of Fairfield Bay for a trained officer; court members said the purchases will enable deputies to use state eCRASH/ESAT systems and help staffing.
The Quorum Court approved multiple measures to bolster sheriffs office technology and staffing. The court adopted an appropriation accepting a $50,000 grant for body cameras, approved an $88,470 grant (with a $9,130 local match) from the Arkansas State Police for in-car laptops, docking stations, scanners, routers and antennas, and authorized a $5,428.80 reimbursement to the City of Fairfield Bay to buy out an officers remaining training obligation so the deputy could join the county force.
The ordinance texts state the in-car equipment will allow deputies to "utilize the state police eCRASH and ESAT software to capture and submit electronically traffic crash and citation data," improving data capture and dispatch coordination. Court members asked whether the GPS and software would interface with the county CAD system; staff said integration may be possible but is not yet confirmed.
County staff explained the $5,428.80 payout will be covered by funds saved from an intentionally unfilled full-time slot (the county had not filled a core engineer position since January). Speakers argued the payout and equipment purchases will save money over time by avoiding the full cost of sending recruits to the academy and by improving efficiency.
All three measures were presented as grant-funded or internal transfers and were adopted by roll call. The court recorded ordinance identifiers for these items during the meeting materials.
