Thursday morning the Marshall County Council conducted a special meeting to hear from Sheriff Matt Hassel who needs to replace two vehicles.
Sheriff Hassel said told council members in attendance, that Ford is no longer making the 2023 Police Interceptor and they are unsure when production of the 24s will begin. He said Dodge is still making the Durangos with a police package, but production could be halted at any time.
Last week the County Commissioners approved the Sheriff’s request to purchase two Dodge Durangos to replace the two patrol vehicles totaled in separate incidents, one in May 2022 and the other this year.
The sheriff said he will need an additional appropriation, but he doesn’t expect the vehicles to arrive for four to five months. Hassel said the county received $57,538.25 from the insurance company for both totaled vehicles. The General Fund additional he needs is $27,870. The total price for both vehicles is $85,408.
During the special meeting, he was just seeking permission to order the two new vehicles.
Councilman Jim Masterson made the motion to approve the ordering of the two Dodge Durango police vehicles. The motion was seconded by Nichole Cox and with five members present the motion was approved. Councilman Tim Harman and Adam Faulstitch were excused from the meeting by President Jesse Bohannon.
Sheriff Hassel had an additional question for the County Council. He said he’d met with the Personnel Committee about a month ago and they came back with a recommendation to bring the turnkey/dispatchers and civilian staff up to a 40-hour work week at the jail. He asked what he needed to do to bring that forward.
Councilman Will Patterson said it is still a work in process.
The sheriff said he is more than willing to share any additional information necessary. He also said the cost for half a year would be less than hiring one additional full-time employee. Matt said the council would need an amendment to the 2023 Salary Ordinance and later this year he would need an additional appropriation to cover the additional 2½ hours per employee per week in the line items to finish out the year.
