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Commissioners approve commissary services agreement for community corrections, remove automatic renewal clause
Summary
Following a legislative change (Senate Bill 92), the board approved a commissary services contract that lets community corrections operate a commissary; commissioners required removing the contract's auto-renewal provision before approving.
The DeKalb County commissioners approved a commissary-services agreement for the community corrections program on July 6 after adding a caveat removing an automatic renewal clause.
A community corrections representative explained Senate Bill 92 now allows community corrections programs to run commissary operations. The department recommended Calwell (transcript variants appear) as vendor because of lower pricing for participants, clothing availability, tablet access and a software platform that would allow online deposits and reduce cash handling. "There's no cost to community corrections," the presenter said, describing the vendor-funded setup and software.
Commissioners probed fees paid by depositors (a $3.95 + 5% card-deposit fee was described as charged to participants) and asked about an automatic renewal provision. The board received assurances that participants, not the county, would bear the card-processing fees and directed staff to remove or prevent the contract's automatic three-year renewal.
The motion to approve the commissary contract, amended to eliminate the automatic renewal, passed by voice vote (motion carried 3 to 0). The department will implement the program under auditor reconciliation practices and report back as the program operates.
What to watch: implementation details for participant deposits, audit and reconciliation with the auditor's office, and any future vendor changes since the county will not be paying setup or software fees.
