By SUSAN WHEELDON, CJ Staff Writer
Pulaski County Detention Center employees will have some of their time freed up for other duties after new booking software is put to use.
The Pulaski County Fiscal Court approved the purchase after Jailer Mike Harris explained that the new software would help free employees up for other duties and ultimately it would be a cheaper option.
Harris said the new system will allow people to view current detainees at the detention center on a Web site, along with their charges and their bonds. Many phone calls made to the jail involve just those questions.
“Right now the phones ring like crazy,” said Harris.
Harris also said local police departments, members of the court system and the media will be able to access items they may need through the site.
Because the new system should cut down on the number of phone calls the jail has to deal with, Harris said he believes jail employees can start taking more time to do searches of people when they enter the jail, as well as cell searches.
“I believe the best thing will be the Web site, as it will slow the calls,” said Harris.
The new booking system will also help prevent the time-consuming system errors that accompanied the old system. When the old system went down, all detainees had to be booked by hand.
The detention center’s current system is online in Houston, Texas, and every time the Internet is out of commission the system at the detention center is “dead in the water.”
The jailer noted the system went down on New Year’s Night and 38 people had to be booked by hand.
The new Jail Tracker software will be located on an in-house server and hooked up to a generator, which will allow it to continue operating should the jail experience a power outage, Harris said.
The cost of Jail Tracker is around $25,000 and Harris said the detention center will pay $13,180 out of the commissary and then pay $351.91 for 48 months to complete the payoff. Harris noted that money can come from the commissary, because it will keep track of payments inmates make for items while in the detention center.
Harris said the company the jail has the current software from charges the jail $600 a month currently and they make payments of $351.91 a month.
“So we’re saving $600 a month and paying $350 a month,” magistrate Glenn Maxey wanted to clarify during the meeting.
Treasurer Arlene Young and Harris confirmed that.
After four years, the detention center will own the new system, however, maintenance work will still be done by the Glasgow company.
Last year the Pulaski County Detention Center booked 4,864 people in the jail.
In other business:
• The court approved waiving the insurance premium tax for the new judicial center. Assistant County Attorney Dan Thompson explained that if the county did not waive the tax since the county owns the building they would pay the tax out of the general fund and then it would go right back into the general fund.
• County Clerk Ralph Troxtell asked the court to accept the 2008 budget and excess fees of $580,789.12, with the exception that it still has to be audited.
The court accepted the budget and excess fees.
• The court approved Nancy Fire Department getting a $10,000 no interest loan for some items they needed. The department will pay $500 a quarter to pay for the loan.
• Upon a recommendation by Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock the court approved H.E. Corder and John Perkins for the ethics board and the reappointment of April Wilson to the board.
• Bullock announced that there would be a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pulaski County Judicial Center at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2.
