The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office may get the go-ahead to purchase new finger-printing equipment this month after Kevin Forrester made his case for the upgrade Monday.
Forrester, who is the sheriff’s office IT consultant, told county supervisors the equipment currently used for fingerprint operations is badly outdated.
“We bought the equipment we have now in 1998,” Forrester said. “Since then, the technology has changed significantly and it continues to upgrade. We went from having some of the best fingerprinting equipment in 1998 to having some of the worst now. To be honest, I’m surprised that what we have now has lasted as long as it has, and finding parts is getting pretty difficult.”
Forrester asked supervisors to table the item until the next board meeting on March 13. Waiting, he said, would allow the LCSO to determine if there are other manufacturers who might provide the necessary equipment at a lower cost. As it stands, one company has given a quote for “roughly $25,000,” Forrester said.
Although the law does not require bids on purchases less than $50,000, the supervisors agreed that exploring other options would be a good approach and unanimously approved tabling the motion.
Other items
The board unanimously authorized a proposal that would allow the county to issue up to $30 million for future economic development projects.
The move came after a required public hearing, held just prior to the board meeting, produced no objections.
Steve Edds of Baker-Donelson law firm, told the supervisors the new two-year agreement is similar to what the board has done in the past. By authorizing the money, the board can move quickly when new businesses move into the county and seek assistance from the county.
“The county has certainly benefited from doing this in the past,” Edds said. “You are one of the few boards who have taken the initiative to do this and it really helps when new projects come up.”
The board’s action does not authorize issuing any bonds at the moment and no projects are currently on the table. It will expedite funding from the county for economic development projects that emerge during the two-year period stipulated by the resolution.
Monday’s board meeting lasted just 25 minutes and required few votes.
District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith noted a community meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the National Guard Amory, where various county officials will update residents of District 4 on what is happening in the county.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.