State law may strike a recent Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors vote to purchase new 911 equipment and force the incoming board to take up the matter again in January.
Miss. Code 19-11-27 states no member of the board of supervisors “shall buy any machinery or equipment in the last six months of” their term unless voting supervisors were “elected at the general election of that year.”
Monday’s 3-2 vote to approve the equipment purchase was supported by District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery, District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard and District 4 Supervisor Daniel Jackson. District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer and District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams opposed the matter.
Jackson was defeated by Republican Bricklee Miller in November’s general election.
If Jackson’s vote is discounted because of the statute, then Monday’s vote will have officially resulted in a 2-2 tie.
“I don’t think (Monday’s vote) will hold up, but we’re going to have to deal with the issue once the new board is in office,” Montgomery said. “In hind sight, we should have had Daniel abstain and go forward like that. We had asked (Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency Director) Shank Phelps to get the numbers together for us once he took over because this equipment is something we desperately need.”
If the vote breakdown remains the same next term, incoming supervisor Miller becomes the issue’s swing vote.
“I’ve met with (Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency Director Shank Phelps) already and am learning about the department’s needs,” she said. “I haven’t been in that office in years. I didn’t realize how old the technology and facility is.”
Monday’s request, as presented by Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency Director Shank Phelps, mapped out a $520,000 plan to fully furnish and upgrade the county education building for 911 and emergency management usage next year.
Phelps’ request included Zetron’s Max Call-Taking and Max Radio Dispatch systems; five XyBix dispatch workstations; uninterruptable power supplies; a 64-channel recorder; a generator; and costs associated with antenna relocations from OCEMA’s old Oktibbeha County Jail post to its new home.
Under the plan, the county is expected to pay about $100,000 for five years.
“Getting the new equipment will be a great thing, and it will be a tremendous asset to Oktibbeha County,” he said after the board approved the request Monday. “We’re hopeful the new 911 center will be up and running this spring ahead of the bad weather that usually pops up about that time of year.”
The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department is expected to utilize the free space at the jail created by OCEMA’s move.
Oktibbeha County previously financed $240,000 in 2002 for radios, consoles and other 911-related equipment for seven years.
Instead of purchasing its phone system, the county leased equipment from BellSouth for the last 13 years. Because of the pending purchase, the county is expected to roll its $63,308.40 annual lease payments into new payments.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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