Central dispatch to start operations at the beginning of 2021

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, December 23, 2020

The consolidated E911 Dispatch for the three law enforcement agencies in Pearl River County is set to start operations in the first week of January.

The interlocal agreements between Pearl River County and the city of Poplarville and city of Picayune, have been approved by the Mississippi Secretary Of State and the State Attorney General’s offices.

The county will maintain a consolidated dispatch center in the Chimney Square building in Picayune and be the employer for the dispatchers. The city of Picayune will pay for 42 percent of the cost and the city of Poplarville will pay for 7 percent of the cost. The cost was divided based on call volume.

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The consolidation also included purchasing new records management and jail management systems. The dispatch center was set to open sooner, but was delayed when part of the implementation team tested positive for COVID-19, according to previous coverage.

State offices also approved the interlocal agreement between the Sheriff’s Department, the Board of Supervisors and the city of Picayune that the county will provide prisoner housing and services for the city at a daily rate of $20 per prisoner. The agreement went into effect earlier this year. The county already provided prisoner housing services for the city of Poplarville.

The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors received the approvals from the state offices at their regular meeting Monday.

In other business the Board:

—Approved a payment to Precisions Construction, LLC for $149,333 of a $323,006 contract for work on Troy Dedeaux Road. The work is funded with state ERBR funds.

—Acknowledged an order dividing the profit from the sale of a seized vehicle. The disbursement will be 80 percent to the Sheriff’s Office and 20 percent to the District Attorney’s Office.