Sheriff: board approves Mutualink school‑safety contract and accepts $1.9M border‑support grant

Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes asked the board to approve a renewal of the county’s contract with Mutualink, described as the county’s school‑safety interoperability system. Rhodes said the program has been funded by the state legislature in prior years and that the contract covers one year plus three optional one‑year renewals, contingent on continued funding. Chrissy Coffey, Mutualink’s CEO, addressed the board, describing how the platform coordinates information across multiple public‑safety agencies during incidents and commended the county’s leadership in deployment across rural and urban jurisdictions.

Rhodes also presented acceptance of an Arizona Department of Public Safety border‑support allocation (described in the meeting as approximately $1,900,000). He said the allocation will fund additional deputies assigned to narcotics task forces, cover a helicopter pilot position and provide roughly $800,000 toward a needed radio‑system upgrade in rural areas. Rhodes said the annual Mutualink contract has been funded by the legislature for several years and that the grant funding is expected to be requested from the legislature again in future cycles.

The board approved both items by unanimous vote.

No board member expressed opposition; Supervisor Cooknell raised questions about whether private schools can participate in the Mutualink system. Rhodes said the statute governing the program is ambiguous, the county has deployed the system to some private schools, and he is seeking clarification from the auditor general and potential legislative cleanup to clarify inclusion.