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Freestone County moves to update records system, approves operational items including clerk contract addendum and camera upgrades
Summary
County clerk explained outages and proposed an LGS contract addendum with a $16,850 setup fee and roughly $1,900/month ongoing cost; commissioners also addressed sheriff pay-grade correction, Lakewood HOA streetlight authorization, road-abandonment paperwork and courthouse camera replacements.
The county clerk’s representative described significant service interruptions with the county’s current records and land‑records vendor (NEEMO) and recommended extending the county’s use of LGS for records and court services. The clerk reported a months‑long pattern of trouble tickets, a server crash that left staff unable to record documents for several business days and inconsistent support response times; she said LGS proposed a one‑time setup fee of $16,850 (which could be paid from special funds) and ongoing county costs in the neighborhood of $1,700–$1,900 per month, plus a $197 indexing addendum that would enable more consistent indexing and return 100% of certain copy revenue to the county.
Commissioners discussed the financial tradeoffs and the clerk argued LGS would be more reliable and more user friendly. The clerk asked for court approval of the addendum so the county could be placed on LGS’s service list; the transcript includes a motion to approve the LGS addendum and discussion but does not include a drawn invoice or long-term service contract in the record.
Other operational items the court addressed on May 20: - The court moved to correct a sheriff’s administrator pay grade, increasing the position by $6,000 and moving the position from grade 1 to grade 3. - The court authorized county contact with Encore and gave authorization for up to six street lights requested by the Lakewood Subdivision HOA, with the HOA covering installation costs. - The court reviewed and moved to accept finalized documents to abandon a section of Tanner Road (road 298) for recordation. - County staff presented a quote to replace courthouse cameras (including a dome camera to cover exterior blind spots) under a five‑year license; staff proposed paying for the cameras as a one‑time expense.
Why it matters: Reliable land-records and court-record systems are core county services affecting title searches, public access and revenue. The proposed LGS arrangement changes monthly costs and revenue share and aims to reduce service downtime. The other operational items affect public safety (street lighting and cameras), personnel pay equity and property records.
Next steps: Commissioners considered and moved on multiple motions related to the clerk addendum and operational items; staff will return with contract terms and negotiation results as required by procurement and budget processes.
