Dispatch purchase approved

Jay County Sheriff’s Office will get to overhaul its dispatch system.
Jay County Council on Wednesday approved a contract with Motorola for a new system, which is part of a partnership with Adams and Wells counties and the City of Bluffton.
It will cost $343,745 to purchase the new system. Sheriff Dwane Ford went before council in July to discuss the contract with Motorola.
“I know it’s a lot of money. I think we are kind of stuck in this … our radio system is pretty much obsolete. We are going to have a hard time getting parts and equipment for it in the next couple years,” Ford said at that meeting.
Support for the current dispatch consoles will end in 2018.
Council members Mike Leonhard, Gary Theurer, Mike Rockwell, Jeanne Houchins, Bob Vance and Ted Champ voted in favor of the contract. Cindy Newton was opposed.
Following approval of the contract, council voted 6-1, again with Newton dissenting, to pay a 10-percent down payment for the system from the infrastructure fund. The remaining funding will come from a seven-year loan, with a fixed interest rate of 2.409 percent, from First Merchants Bank.
At its July meeting, council recommended Ford acquire loan estimates, given the high cost.
A loan from MainSource bank was also reviewed, but its seven-year interest rate was 2.65 percent.
A motion was originally submitted that included a five-year loan, but was rescinded following discussion on the additional maintenance costs for the system, which will total $521,614 for the 20-year program.
It begins at a cost of $21,866 in year two and gradually increases over its lifespan, topping out at $32,843 in year 20.
Discussion at Wednesday’s meeting suggested the yearly maintenance payment fee would be paid out of the infrastructure fund.
“If we’re going to have maintenance and other stuff that’s going to come out of infrastructure and we don’t know what that cost is, could we be tying infrastructure up too much?” asked Champ. “What I am saying is if there is no prepaid penalty, would it be better to go seven (years) instead of five because, as Cindy brought up, we’re going to have maintenance coming out of there too. We’ve got to have that money coming from somewhere.”
Newton raised concerns about approving such a large amount of money for the new system, especially as the county looks to freeze wages for employees next year.
“It’s not like our equipment is just going to stop working in January 2017 or 2018,” she said, adding that more research needs to be done on the issue.
“We don’t know how much it is going to cost to lay the line and install everything,” she added.
Noting the discussion, Leonhard asked after both motions had already carried whether council should hold off its approval until Ford came before it again.
Houchins responded, saying, “If we keep waiting, we’re going to lose our incentives.”
Motorola is offering a $40,000 discount on the system until Aug. 15.
County attorney Bill Hinkle said Adams and Wells County and the City of Bluffton have already signed contracts with Motorola.
In other business: coun cil:
•Approved additional funds of $510,510.85 for the highway fund, which includes $36,000 for a new boom mower and the rest for remaining roadwork, $26,000 in highway donation funds and $3,653.57 in Local Emergency Planning Council funds for Jay Emergency Management Agency for supplies, travel expenses and repair and maintenance.
•Approved auditor Anna Culy to advertise Form 3 of the county budget with proposed raises that were included by department heads in their budget proposals submitted in April. Advertising it with those raises would put the budget $1.1 million over its working levy, Culy said. She added that budgets are usually advertised high and then cut back if necessary. Culy said she’d like to have the budget advertised by the end of August.
•Received 23 draft recommendations proposed by the county budget committee and briefly discussed them.
•Declined a request from Culy to have her second deputy’s salary increased, which she said would allow it to match its job classification. It was recommended Culy bring her request forward again next year when all such requests can be reviewed and decided upon.