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Constable urges equipment upgrades as commissioners press to cut vehicle costs
Summary
Van Zandt County constable told commissioners rising equipment and IT costs drove a modest increase in his budget request and asked for time to lower an estimated $110,000 vehicle outfitting cost; commissioners said other jurisdictions manage similar builds for about $80,000.
Van Zandt County—s budget workshop opened with Constable Bob Keltner outlining increases to his law-enforcement supply and IT lines, driven by subscriptions and sharply higher storage costs. He told the court he has "roughly about a 100 and between a 100 and $120,000 worth of secret service equipment" and that a subscription for a vehicle recording/drive service accounts for roughly $7,000 of the increase.
Keltner also described a server upgrade and a sudden price rise for hard drives, saying the drives went from "around $400" to about "$1,200" and that his office is currently "just under 18 terabytes" of storage and aiming for a much larger archive. Commissioners pressed him to pare vehicle and outfitting costs after reviewing recent purchases across neighboring counties. The chair argued other departments equipped patrol vehicles for under $80,000 and urged Keltner to seek lower bids; Keltner responded that radios, cameras and emergency lights add materially to his totals and that he lacks the same buying power as larger agencies.
The court did not adopt a final vehicle cap but directed staff to return with clarified line-item costs for cameras, radios and vehicle outfitting, and to explore options for used equipment or contract pricing that could reduce the estimate.
