Humphreys County committee approves budget amendment to buy sheriff's replacement drone

The Humphreys County Administrative Committee voted to send a resolution to the full commission that would amend the fiscal-year 2025–26 budget to appropriate $10,000 from non-tax drug-fund accounts and accept a $10,000 donation from OxyChem to purchase a replacement drone for the Sheriff's Office.

The county chair presented the item as a drug-fund budget amendment and asked whether the money proposed for the purchase was new or drawn from existing drug-fund accounts. Sheriff Davis said the purchase uses non-tax dollars from the drug fund, plus a private donation. "We have 2 drones. Actually, we have 3. One's a little bitty one. And, one of them is several years old... it's on its last leg," the sheriff said, describing worn batteries and dated technology and arguing the replacement is needed to maintain operational readiness.

Sheriff Davis described operational use of the county's drones during a prior explosion investigation, noting the value of maintaining at least two primary units so one can remain airborne while another changes batteries. County Executive Pergriba and commissioners confirmed the account includes proceeds from vehicle sales and seizures in addition to donations and grants, and that no tax dollars are being used for the appropriation.

The committee approved the resolution and moved it forward to the full commission for final action. No vendor quote was included in the committee packet; the sheriff said there is a quote of about $21,000 but the committee was only asked to appropriate $10,000 at this stage.