By Allison Peck
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners covered several issues during its meeting Tuesday, including a grant application for sheriff’s office body cameras, forced control of blacktail prairie dogs and concerns about the county’s information technology agreement with the City of North Platte.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department is seeking up to $32,254 through a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to help purchase body cameras for sworn deputies. The department is looking at purchasing up to 25 cameras at an estimated total cost of about $64,508, with the federal grant covering half of the purchase.
Sergeant Derek Hannah told commissioners the department learned about the grant opportunity while working with its current in-car camera supplier. The department had already submitted the initial paperwork and faced a Friday deadline to complete the grant application.
Because the body cameras were not included in the county’s current budget, the sheriff’s office is looking at several potential sources for the county’s matching funds, including money from the defensive driving diversion program, federal forfeiture funds and potentially assistance from the county attorney’s drug fund. Officials said the purchase could take place later, potentially in the spring, depending on funding and the grant process.
Commissioners also discussed the ongoing cost of storing body-camera footage. The grant would cover the cameras, but cloud storage and subscription costs would be an additional expense. The sheriff’s office was still waiting for information on how much additional storage would be required because the county already pays for cloud storage for its in-car camera system.
Sheriff Jerome Kramer noted that he had previously been opposed to body cameras but said conversations with attorneys involved in law enforcement litigation had changed his view. He said the cameras could help protect the county from civil liability.
The board ultimately authorized the chairman to sign the grant application.
Prairie dog control
Commissioners also approved the beginning of a forced-control process for blacktail prairie dogs on property in Section 29, Township 10 North, Range 33 West.
County officials said a neighboring landowner had requested the action and that county personnel had inspected the property and verified the prairie dog problem. An adjacent landowner told commissioners the prairie dogs had expanded into a nearby cornfield, where approximately 72 acres of corn had been damaged.
Commissioners were told the property owner had previously been contacted and had been given an opportunity to participate voluntarily but had not done so. The board unanimously approved proceeding with the necessary measures for forced control.
IT agreement remains under review
The board also discussed an interlocal agreement with the City of North Platte for information technology services.
Commissioners raised questions about how county employees are being billed for IT services, how service calls are documented and whether the county is receiving enough information to evaluate the agreement and its costs.
The board discussed improving use of the existing IT trouble-ticket system and potentially requiring more detailed reporting on calls, projects and employee hours. Commissioners also discussed having a better understanding of upcoming IT projects for budgeting and cash-flow purposes.
The current agreement is not scheduled for renewal until November, and commissioners indicated more discussion with city representatives and the IT department is needed before the agreement comes back to the full board.
The meeting also included routine Board of Equalization business, including property-tax corrections resulting from Nebraska Department of Revenue homestead audits and approval of a homestead exemption appeal after additional trust documentation was provided.