COLDSPRING — The San Jacinto County Commissioners Court gave its approval for a new contract with Motorola Systems for its communications service after finding out that the terms of the initial contract had not been met on both sides.
At the Wednesday regular meeting, Stan Jolly, chief deputy of the Sheriff’s Office, told the court that when the new administration came on board, they noticed the system was extremely outdated.
In working with the company to upgrade the system so it would work properly, it was found that there was a contract, signed in 2018, for $385,400, and that no payments had been made on an annual fee of $61,094.
Jolly said that the company admittedly had never sent any bills to the Sheriff’s Office, but the county was more than $400,000 in arrears. He said that he negotiated with the company, which will write off the previous balance, and moving forward proposed an annual maintenance contract of $58,180.18.
The system is the operational backbone of the office’s communications, including jail and emergency dispatch of fire department and patrol.
County Judge Fritz Faulkner pointed out that when the initial contract was brought before the court, they were told that was to be paid for by a grant and would not cost the county a nickel.
After an executive session, the contract was approved, but the court added a codicil that they receive in writing the company’s intention to write off the past-due balance.
Relatedly, the Spillman Geographic Information System update, with DETCOG assistance, was approved.
In other business, the county:
