Commissioners approve SRO contract; debate renewal of Mindbase wellness app

The Jay County Commissioners unanimously approved a School Resource Officer (SRO) contract with Jay County School Corporation covering July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Sheriff Larry “Ray” Newton presented the contract and highlighted small changes from the prior year, including no charge for days an officer is unavailable and a wording change from “shotgun” to “rifle.” Commissioner Rex Journay moved for approval; Commissioner Chad Aker seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Sheriff Newton also raised a separate contract for Mindbase, an employee-wellness and incident-tracking application that had been in use for two years. Contessa Stilts, the 911 IDACS Coordinator, explained the application has two modules: a resource library available to employees and a dashboard that tracks call types and indicators of high-intensity calls. “Mindbase is more of a preventative tool versus a treatment tool,” Stilts said, and the department has scheduled two in-person trainings on June 26 to increase adoption.

The commissioners and sheriff discussed low active use and whether services provided by Lifeworks Counseling might duplicate parts of Mindbase. Sheriff Newton said the department began using Mindbase in 2022 and staff are uncertain whether both services are necessary. Aker suggested extending the vendor contract to December 2024 to allow training and re-evaluation in October before deciding on a full-year renewal.