Board considers GPS units

Published 7:00 am Thursday, April 23, 2015

MORE SPACE: Pearl River County’s Department of Human Services Area Social Work Supervisor Dana Spiers and County Director Morgan Houston request more office space at board meeting. Photo by Ashley Collins.

MORE SPACE: Pearl River County’s Department of Human Services Area Social Work Supervisor Dana Spiers and County Director Morgan Houston request more office space at board meeting. Photo by Ashley Collins.

The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday to discuss installing GPS tracking devices on county vehicles and extra office space for the Pearl River County Department of Human Services.

At the meeting, District II Supervisor Malcolm Perry spoke about the need for GPS tracking devices on various county vehicles.

“My idea was to give more accountability to everybody by placing GPS trackers inside the vehicles. We would need to set rules and guidelines listing the consequences involved if you don’t follow the plan,” Perry said.

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He said he plans to install GPS tracking devices in 18 county vehicles, which would cost $329 per vehicle, including other monthly costs.

“I think that if you’re not going to put GPS inside every county vehicle then you’re selectively looking at certain employees and it could be seen as abuse when you selectively target individuals,” District I Supervisor Anthony Hales said.

While some county vehicles already have GPS tracking devices installed, Perry said it’s necessary to add more tracking systems to ensure the county’s equipment isn’t abused.

Most members of the board agreed to move forward with the installation, except District IV Supervisor J. Patrick Lee and Hales, who voted against the matter.

Also at the meeting, Pearl River County’s Department of Human Services Area Social Work Supervisor Dana Spiers and County Director Morgan Houston requested the board’s help to find more office space for their department.

“We are in the process of becoming accredited in the state and there are certain standards we have to meet. Right now, we are lacking office space for many of our recent employees,” Spiers said.

Currently, there are several other departments inside the building where the department is housed so they can’t expand their office space internally, Houston said.

Lee asked Spiers if the county would receive benefits from the accreditation.

“It’s a great privilege for Mississippi for us to be accredited, we would be meeting certain standards that would accommodate our families and the level of care and services would be higher,” Spiers said.

The board discussed several office space options and agreed to find a suitable space to meet the department’s needs.

In other business, the board:

– Approved travel for the Emergency Director to Mississippi Preparedness Summit in Biloxi, Miss. on May 27-29.

– Approved travel for Election Commissioners to ECAM Workshop in Hattiesburg, Miss. on May 11.

– Approved travel for the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office to Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Training in Glynco, Ga. on May 3-9, 2015.

­– Approved personnel changes for the Pearl River County Road Department and Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.

– Approved Good Time Cruisers Car Club to use property located at a parking lot alongside Main Street in Poplarville during the 2015 Blueberry Jubilee.

The next board meeting will be Monday, May 4 at 9 a.m.