Editor's note: The headline of this story was updated for clarity.
Montgomery County commissioners on May 27 approved Phase 2 of a reorganization effort at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office as well as funding for software at the county's forensic center.
The details
Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle and Budget Director Amanda Carter presented the Phase 2 restructuring plans to commissioners on May 27. The restructuring includes hiring a finance assistant which will be funded jointly from the sheriff's budget and the jail commissary fund.
The changes come after a first phase of department reorganization was completed in April, which included the creation of a countywide night command and decreasing 911 dispatch call times.
On May 27, Doolittle also said that turnover and department vacancy rates had dropped to around 1% on average.
Also of note
Information Technology Director Bobby Powell told commissioners that a critical software system that assists the county's forensic center was rapidly increasing in price. In a renewal contract with VMware totaling $1.07 million, Powell said the county needed to stay with the current system for a three-year contract period due to a lack of adequate software available in the industry to replace it.
"The cost of this product has gone up over 200% to 1,200% over the course of last year," Powell said. "We are at the very end of their quoting period. If we don't do this now, it's going to come back probably two to three times as much. There are options out there, but most of the options out there are not as mature as this [software] so we want to stick with what we've got at least the next three years."
Jessica joined Community Impact in 2022 as a reporter covering The Woodlands greater area. She now covers countywide government issues for Montgomery County as well as the cities of Humble, Oak Ridge North and Shenandoah, and The Woodlands Township. A graduate of Blinn College, she has previously worked for two local papers covering city and county government. When not in a meeting, Jessica can be found crafting and caring for her cat, Chubbers.