UNION COUNTY — A county council vote Tuesday will help the Union County Sheriff’s Office take a step into the future.
During Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Union County Council, council members voted unanimously to assist the sheriff’s office with the purchase of a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.
Sheriff David Taylor spoke to council during Tuesday’s meeting, and he began by pointing out that council’s assistance in purchasing the system will not actually cost the county at all in the long run. The county’s assistance would be more of a loan to the department.
Taylor proposed the purchase of a CAD system from Zuercher Technologies.
“This system will take us to the point where we are not dispatching calls,” Taylor said. “It will be done by computers instead of by radios.”
The total cost of the system is $123,880 — $79,600 for software, $22,270 for services and $22,010 for mapping. Of that total, the state 911 fund will reimburse $93,319 — $55,720 for software, $15,589 for services and $22,010 for mapping. After the reimbursements to the county, there will be a balance of $30,561, which Taylor said will be covered by the Union County 911 Telephone Fund.
Council member Ben Ivey asked how long it would take for the county to be reimbursed.
“The installation will take longer than the reimbursement,” Taylor said, as he explained that the reimbursement would take three months at the longest.
Taylor also explained that the CAD system would include a server, which is needed since the sheriff’s department currently operates off of the Union County Courthouse server.
“Right now, if we have an ice storm and all the power is out in the city, the server will be down and we would have to start dispatching calls with a pencil and pad,” Taylor said.
Taylor added that he feels confident about Zuercher Technologies as former Greenville sheriff Johnny Mack Brown is affiliated with the company as a public safety adviser. He said the company guarantees the system and covers 100 percent of maintenance costs. GIS Coordinator Linda Mitchell added that all upgrades will be covered by an annual maintenance fee which is already in the department’s budget.
Look for more information about other items discussed at Tuesday’s meeting — including a plan for the Carlisle Fire District, a request from Pastor Neil Keisler of Trinity Baptist Church and several county board vacancies — in tomorrow’s edition of The Union Daily Times and at www.uniondailytimes.com.
Staff Writer Derik Vanderford can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 29, or by email at dvanderford@civitasmedia.com.
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