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Sheriff asks board to update school alerts and backs Marcus Alert clinician‑deputy pilot; alert vendor discussion moved to Thursday work session
Summary
Sheriff Bill Overton recommended replacing an older Intrado alert system with a Raptor lanyard alert system (first‑year cost about $123,230 with $63,000 annual thereafter) and requested acceptance of a state grant to fund a deputy to pair with a Piedmont clinician under the Marcus Alert model; the board deferred Raptor procurement to a Thursday work session and approved the Marcus Alert grant (estimated $94,000) and MOU.
Sheriff Bill Overton briefed the board on school alert system options after Intrado announced it would discontinue the product the county had been using. The sheriff's committee recommended Raptor, which offers wearable lanyard alert buttons and optional strobe lights for campus buildings. Miss Cundiff (9‑1‑1 manager) summarized two Raptor options: Option A (strobe lights at middle and high schools) with first‑year implementation of $123,230 and $63,000 annually thereafter; Option B omits strobes and is less expensive. The committee said vendors offered a time‑limited discount if the county signed promptly.
Sheriff Overton also asked the board to accept a one‑year Marcus Alert grant (full salary and benefits for a deputy working with a clinician) to establish a clinician‑deputy team for behavioral health responses in the Piedmont region. The board approved executing an MOU to accept grant funding of $94,000 and authorized the sheriff to proceed. For the Raptor vendor, supervisors asked for a Thursday work session so staff could present technical details, budgets, and gaps the new system would fill; staff agreed to return with a methodical briefing and cost scenarios.
