WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – Wabash County Central Dispatch will spend more than $31,000 over the next five years to upgrade its 911 call recording system.
“The total is $31,075, but it will be broken down. The first year is $8,000, then it goes down to $6,000,” Central Dispatch Executive Director Sandy Beeks said.
“It’s spread out over five years.”
The Wabash County Commissioners approved the five-year contract with DSS at their Monday, Jan. 30 meeting after Beeks informed them that her department already has the necessary funds appropriated.
Also approved at the meeting was a new holiday schedule for certain county law enforcement personnel.
According to County Auditor Marcie Shepherd, who presented the information, the new holiday schedule is for Central Dispatch, sheriff’s deputies and jail officers.
“Departments that have to be manned 24/7 have what you could call floating holidays,” Shepherd told The Paper.
The new schedule requires that employees use their first six county-approved holidays for 2017 before June 30. The remaining six holidays would then need to be used by the end of the year.
In previous years, employees could use their county-approved holiday time whenever they wanted.
Shepherd provided the example of an employee taking their New Year’s Day holiday sometime in November.
“We’re trying to get them to take their holidays at decent times,” she said.
Sheriff Bob Land added that civilian employees will not be included in the new policy.
Land noted that he will also be affected by the policy change, and informed the commissioners that it must be approved by the Merit Board.
In other news from the commissioners’ meeting, Land reported that, unofficially as no official report was ready, there were 87 inmates in the Wabash County Jail, with 61 being held in Miami County and seven in Elkhart County.
“We did hit a peak of 100 on Wednesday afternoon,” Land said, noting that the official report will read 97 due to the daily count being taken Wednesday morning.