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Court accepts Crossbar commissary bid, Calwill sole food-service bid; sheriff reports 497 calls in January and requests $60,000
Summary
Russell County fiscal court accepted Crossbar for the jail e-cigarette/commissary contract, approved a sole-source food-service bid from Calwill, accepted the sheriff's January 2026 activity report (497 calls for service) and approved a $60,000 monthly support request to help the sheriff's office meet bills.
Russell County fiscal court approved procurement actions for the county jail and voted to provide short-term financial support to the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Paulson opened bids for electronic cigarettes and discussed technical compatibility with the jail's commissary software. Two vendors submitted comparable unit pricing; after discussion about Crossbar's commissary tracking and inventory controls, the court accepted Crossbar's bid (motion by Magistrate Garner; second by Magistrate Skaggs) to ensure the jail's system could log and scan units and prevent diversion.
On food service, the sheriff reported there was only one bidder, Calwill, the current provider. With no alternative bids presented, the court moved to accept the sole food-service bid.
Sheriff Paulson also presented the office's January 2026 activity summary and finances: 'From month of January 2026, we had 497 calls for service,' including 54 arrests, a mix of traffic stops and accidents, 143 prisoner transports and more than 4,900 court-transport miles; the sheriff reported $339,018.2 in property collected (transcript figure). The court voted to accept the sheriff's report.
Separately, county staff (packet prepared by Misty) provided estimates of the sheriff's bills and requested $60,000 to help meet February expenses and maintain operations. The court approved the request and indicated monthly assistance would continue 'until they can keep them going' while the office builds cash basis.
What it means: The Crossbar award reflects an emphasis on commissary tracking and integration with jail software to reduce improper diversion. Accepting Calwill's sole food-service bid keeps the existing provider but leaves competition limited. The $60,000 county support is a stopgap to meet cash-flow needs for the sheriff's office; the court discussed monitoring and future budget impacts.
Next steps: County finance staff will implement transfers approved by the court and continue monthly monitoring of the sheriff's cash position and contracts; any procurement awards will be administered per county contracting rules.
