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Fire, EMS and law‑enforcement officials ask for equipment, radios and disaster funds; EMC seeks small additions for alerting and training space
Summary
Volunteer fire departments, emergency management and law‑enforcement representatives told commissioners they need higher line items for runs and training, hoses and a second tanker staging location; constables asked for body cameras, handheld radios and reliable patrol vehicles. The EMC asked for modest increases for alerting, trailer internet and a $2,500 county disaster fund.
Representatives of volunteer fire departments and county emergency management urged the Titus County commissioners to increase several line items to cover recurring costs and to improve operational readiness.
A Nortex Volunteer Fire Department representative said the runs and training line has been exceeded repeatedly and asked the court to raise the allocation from $6,000 to $7,000. Marcus Williams requested increasing the hoses and miscellaneous equipment line from $1,000 to $5,000 to outfit a new tanker arriving this fall and discussed staging a second tanker at a county building to speed daytime response.
Emergency Management Coordinator Mr. Chamber told the court he cut and adjusted some lines but requested additional funding for the county’s emergency alert system, Active911 and trailer internet. He added $12,000 to miscellaneous to install lights and electric at a leased building so it can host training and vehicle work, and proposed creating a $2,500 county disaster fund to pay for immediate local needs after an incident — food, water and portable restrooms — noting state and county thresholds for reimbursement (“Our threshold for Titus County is 155,000. The state of Texas is 555,000.”).
Law‑enforcement speakers asked commissioners to fund body cameras and radios. One presenter said current body cameras “don’t even work anymore” and that state law requires cameras; he cited prices found in research (example unit $825) and an estimate of roughly $10,000 per handheld radio based on last year’s pricing for higher‑end units. Speakers also described difficulty putting reliable reserve vehicles into service; they reported auction options in the $16,000–$30,000 range for already‑equipped police cars and suggested using sheriff‑office procurement to get better radio pricing.
No formal procurement or purchase motions were taken in the workshop. Commissioners and staff discussed coordinating purchases with the sheriff’s office to obtain better pricing and ensuring radios are interoperable with county dispatch and local police systems.
