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Sheriff asks council to allow multi-agency talks on replacing 20-year records and jail systems, cites SLED/FBI mandate
Summary
Sheriff's Office representative Alex Williams told council the county's combined RMS/JMS is out-of-date and will be noncompliant with state (SLED) and federal reporting after Dec. 31, 2026; he asked permission to negotiate with neighboring agencies and vendors, estimating startup costs of $70,000'$300,000.
Alex Williams, speaking for the Marlboro County Sheriff's Office, told the council the county's combined records management system (RMS) and jail management system (JMS) is roughly two decades old and will not meet state or federal technology standards after Dec. 31, 2026. Williams said the vendor that purchased the current product has not provided necessary updates and that SLED (state law-enforcement division) requirements and federal reporting (FBI) effectively require agencies to upgrade or change systems.
Williams asked the council to permit the sheriff's office to engage with the city of Bennville, adjacent towns, chiefs of police and county finance and administration staff to study options and obtain final pricing. "Ballpark," he said, "from $70,000 to $300,000 to get started," a range he attributed to data conversion, training, and implementation needs. Williams also said that if the county stayed with the current vendor the annual expense could rise from about $6,000 to roughly $50,000 in the near term.
Council members expressed concern about the timing amid final budget action and about committing to large sums before final quotes are available; staff and the sheriff clarified no funding commitment was requested at the meeting, only permission to coordinate and come back with final numbers. Williams emphasized potential benefits of multi-agency procurement, including cost-sharing and data interoperability that would allow agencies to share dispatch and disposition data more effectively.
The council took the information under advisement and granted permission for the sheriff and staff to proceed with interagency discussions and to return with recommended options and final cost estimates.
