Jackson County Commission authorizes up to $230,000 for jail equipment and upgrades

Jackson County commissioners on Dec. 22 authorized up to $230,000 to pre-procure equipment and repairs for the county jail, using funds the county holds from housing state inmates.

Jeremy, who presented the request during the work session, said the sheriff’s office is seeking roughly $200,000 to cover multiple items, including replacement of cracked jail windows, replacement/trade-in of current firearms for optics-mounted systems, and safety-protective equipment. He also described an inmate-tracking system with a one-time start fee of $15,000 and an annual licensing fee of $9,000.

“It’s a way of getting paperless at the jail,” Jeremy said of the proposed inmate-tracking system, adding that staff would use company-supplied handheld devices to log feeding, medical and other events into the jail computer system.

Jeremy listed other requested items: a drone (estimated $12,000–$15,000) for search and recovery operations, an upgrade to the jail’s fire alarm system, a new sign (quoted at about $6,000), and additional cameras and licensing (about $46,000). He said some quotes were estimates and the office erred on the high side to ensure coverage.

County staff reported an available balance of about $236,000 in the holding fund that stores proceeds from housing state prisoners. Commissioners discussed the need to order some items before year-end because prices sometimes rise after January.

A motion to permit the sheriff to acquire the listed items and to authorize expenditures up to $230,000 was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; the transcript records the outcome as a unanimous ‘Aye.’

The authorization allows pre-procurement and covers listed items up to the stated limit. Commissioners and staff said staff would return with final quotes and any additional fund requests if necessary.