Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Merrimack County sheriff seeks delegation permission to use dispatch emergency fund for coverage upgrades
Summary
Sheriff David Croft told commissioners he will ask the delegation in March to withdraw from a long‑standing ‘dispatch emergency fund’—estimated at about $300,000–$340,000—to pay for a Northfield antenna (roughly $40,000–$60,000) and replacement dispatch consoles (about $125,000–$150,000); the board authorized further exploration and asked staff to return with firm numbers.
Sheriff David Croft told the Merrimack County Board of Commissioners that he will ask the county delegation in March to approve withdrawals from a longstanding “dispatch emergency fund” to address radio coverage gaps and failing equipment.
Croft said the fund dates to the 1990s and accrues interest; he estimated the balance at "somewhere around 300 to 340,000 give or take" and said the county needs to confirm exact accounting. Croft said the immediate needs are twofold: install an antenna to address reception dead zones in Northfield (a preliminary estimate of $40,000–$60,000) and replace dispatch consoles that are beyond their useful life (estimates so far run from about $125,000 to $150,000, with additional electrical work still to be priced).
"It's been in existence for many, many years," Croft said. "We haven't put any money in this fund in the last five that I've been here...it accrues interest." He framed the upgrades as a coalition responsibility that should not fall solely on his departmental budget or on one town.
Commissioners and staff pressed for documentation about the fund's authorization and accounting. County staff said the fund appears in annual audits and that earlier records show a 2009 resolution addressing withdrawals; they said the detailed verbiage and procedural paperwork are not immediately available and will require further research.
After questions about procurement options, tariffs for imported equipment, and whether towns under county dispatch would request similar work, the board unanimously approved a motion to allow the sheriff and county staff to continue researching the fund, finalize specifications and bids, and return with exact cost and authority language ahead of the delegation meeting.
The board did not approve any expenditures at the meeting; Croft said he will return with prices and a timetable in advance of the March delegation session.
