MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners on Thursday approved spending $1,085,821 to upgrade public safety technology for law enforcement and emergency response services.
Most of the funds for the upgrade, which will be achieved through a contract with Tyler Technologies from Plano, Texas, will come from the county’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
County administrator Andrew Keller said the ARPA award covers the “vast majority of the year one cost” for the project, a comprehensive overhaul of the county’s aging current technology with a system that will provide computer-aided dispatch, records management, jail management and an animal control system for the county dog warden’s office.
“The sheriff has (also) committed $250,000 from the sheriff’s Phase Two funding. That funding comes from the 911 revenue source from our wireless surcharge. Those funds, of course, are dedicated to the 911 system in Richland County,” Keller said.
Richland County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jim Sweat also praised the move. He was joined at the meeting by Sheriff Steve Sheldon and Maj. Joe Masi.
“This is a huge advancement forward for public safety in Richland County and it shows a continued investment by the Board of Commissioners to move our public safety in the right direction and get us to where we need to be and where we should be,” Sweat said.
“Again, just a reminder, it’s a complete public safety (system). It’s not just the sheriff’s Office. It’s 911, it’s all the county fire departments that have been included in that.
“It’s all of the fire departments in Richland County, with the exception of the City of Mansfield, that will be included in this project. As most of you know, we dispatch for all of those agencies through our county 911,” Sweat said.
The approval was for $51,000 less than originally anticipated since the City of Mansfield is not a part of the project at this point.
“We can modify (the agreement) down the road if and when the City of Mansfield makes a decision or decides whether or not to partner with us,” Commissioner Tony Vero said.
Commissioner Cliff Mears added, “If you’re not safe, nothing else matters.”
With the approval, commissioners have $13,180,595 left from the $23 million ARPA funding initially received. Under the U.S. Treasury guidelines, all ARPA appropriations must be made by the end of 2024 and funds expended by the end of 2026.
“We’re still in pretty good shape. We do have some outstanding requests and we expect obviously some investment to have that chipped away a little bit. But that’s what’s remaining,” Vero said.
Sweat said it will take 12 to 18 months for the software conversion, including a need for training staff on the new system.
“It’s a long process,” he said.
Also on Thursday, in their final meeting of 2022, commissioners:
— announced a meeting is scheduled with Verizon Wireless on Jan. 19 regarding installation of equipment on a new communications tower in Lucas that will allow residents to use it for cell service.
— approved non-general fund budgets for 2023, including agencies such as Richland Newhope, Richland Public Health and Richland County Children Services.
— announced officials with the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library will attend a meeting Jan. 10 to seek approval of a 10-year, 3.9-mill property tax for the May primary ballot. Vero said commissioners have told library leaders the information they need for the discussion, including revenues/expenses for the past five years and details on the library’s cash balance.
— approved a 2 percent increase to the county’s wage scale and a 1 percent cost-of-living increase for non-union employees whose wages are collectively bargained.
— met with county JFS Director Lori Bedson and approved extending eight service contracts totaling $57,759 through the end of the first quarter of 2023. The contracts were due to expire at the end of 2022.
— approved a new job description for the Youth and Family Council executive director’s position. Bedson said most of the changes dealt with including “certain certifications that must be obtained” for the position that were not in the previous job description. The currently vacant position will be advertised and will pay between $28.50 and $39.89 per hour, depending on education and experience.
