Tift County approves contracts, software renewals, equipment lease and community programs

At its July 10 meeting the Tift County Board of Commissioners approved multiple contracts, renewals and program agreements during a largely noncontroversial consent‑style series of votes.

Key approvals included a $5,680 professional services agreement with Schneider Geospatial (QPublic) to enable electronic tax appeals and mapping tools; a Plantel fiber transport addendum to bring fiber to Fire Station 51 and Animal Control at no build cost with a monthly service charge of $713.55 per site; and a cybersecurity services renewal with ThinkGard for $10,647.14. The county approved a five‑year PRI contract with TruVista (annual cost $13,650.72) to replace AT&T copper circuits with fiber, noting a monthly decrease of $19.42 for the two affected circuits.

The board authorized execution of a five‑year lease with John Deere Financial for a motor grader (annual payments $52,399.77) and approved the Brightly (formerly Dude Solutions) renewal for Community Development Services at $12,089.95. The board accepted a scrap‑tire abatement grant and scheduled the collection event for Nov. 2, 2023, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. at the Public Works Facility with assistance from Keep Tift Beautiful. It also approved agreements to administer municipal elections for the City of Omega and the City of TyTy, greenlighted a pool‑use contract for the non‑profit Tiftarea Tidal Waves, and approved the purchase of 125 football helmets from Certor Sports for $21,060.50.

All motions on these items passed by recorded board voice vote or unanimous tally as noted in the minutes; nearly all items were described by department directors as budgeted or within expected cost parameters.