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Broadwater Trust tables sheriff’s $50,000 patrol‑laptop request pending legal and usage review
Summary
Trustees tabled a Broadwater County Sheriff’s request for roughly $50,000 to replace patrol‑car laptops, requesting county‑attorney review and data on how often deputies respond to recreation calls before deciding whether trust funds may be used for equipment that could be considered operational.
The Broadwater County Trust on March 3 tabled a request from Broadwater County Sheriff Mark Wood for roughly $50,000 to replace aging patrol‑car laptops, saying trustees need legal guidance and data on calls tied to recreation before deciding whether the request fits the trust’s recreational‑development remit.
"It is essential for the deputies to have that in the car," Sheriff Mark Wood said, describing laptops that provide location pins, real‑time dispatch information and better support for search‑and‑rescue operations. He said the department had unexpected compatibility problems after a Windows upgrade and had already secured $5,000 donations from two Rotary clubs toward the purchase.
Several trustees questioned whether paying for law‑enforcement hardware crosses the Trust’s charter. "I don't see the avenue open to fund a government organization's inherent equipment," one commissioner said, arguing the Trust’s mission to "facilitate recreational development" does not clearly authorize substituting for departmental operational budgets.
Trustees asked the sheriff to supply counts of calls for service tied to recreation (so the board can estimate what portion of use is recreation‑related), and they asked staff to seek an opinion from the county attorney on whether the request would be legally allowable under the Trust’s governing bylaws. The board moved to table the request to a future meeting after those items are gathered.
Background and next steps: the sheriff described the request as a roughly $50,000 invoice for new devices; the application lists $24,005.80 as the Trust share in one line and notes a $5,000 Rotary contribution. Trustees said they will revisit the application once call‑for‑service data and the county attorney’s advice are available.
