Sheriff’s Dept. Radio Expenses Questioned
Fayette County officials questioned some recent expenses by the Sheriff’s Office at a Commissioners Court meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9.
During the portion of the meeting when Commissioners review recent expenses, County Auditor Cindy Havelka pointed out a $15,804.95 bill from the Lower Colorado River Authority to the Sheriff’s Office for “Radio Repair.”
“In further checking it, it looks like we purchased two new handheld radios for (two officers),” Havelka said.
“Why are they so expensive?” asked Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.
Havelka said the radios purchased were Motorola APX 8000, which the manufacturer touts as a “best in class” all-band radio designed for interoperability between multiple agencies.
In an interview last Friday, Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie said the radios are used by the County’s drug interdiction officers. He said they need the special radios for long-distance communication with multiple agencies such as Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Austin County Special Response Team and the multi-jurisdictional Westside HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) group.
“If this is for drug interdiction primarily, why doesn’t the HIDTA group, which gets money from the federal government, why don’t they pay for some of this stuff?” asked Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.
At a meeting on Aug. 30, Fayette County Commissioner approved an agreement with Austin County whereby Fayette County Narcotics Officer Randy Thumann would receive overtime pay for his work associated with the Westside HIDTA group. Fayette County would pay the overtime, with Austin County reimbursing Fayette County with federal grant dollars they receive as a sponsoring agency. Austin County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Walls, who leads the Westside HIDTA, explained the arrangement to Commissioners at the Aug. 30 meeting. The need for the radios was not discussed at that meeting.
At last Thursday’s meeting, McBroom said, “I don’t understand why we’re paying for (the radios) when another county is receiving funding for it.”
Noviskie said the radios were paid for with forfeiture funds and not tax dollars. The Sheriff’s Office receives forfeiture funds from property seizures associated with criminal arrests, such as proceeds of illegal drug sales.
Later, McBroom questioned an $850 monthly payment from the Sheriff’s Forfeiture Fund to Enterprise for a rental car used by Thumann.
“We’ve been paying this for years,” McBroom said. “Why don’t we just buy one?”
“He doesn’t drive his County car?” Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff asked.
“He has two of them,” McBroom said. “Why do you need two of them?”
Noviskie told the Record on Friday that Thumann uses the car when he works with the DEA outside of Fayette County.
The list of expenses also included a $2,787.75 payment from the forfeiture fund to Enterprise for “damage to rental vehicle.” Noviskie said the payment was for repairs to damaged caused by the vehicle striking a deer. Havelka said the County’s insurance carrier would reimburse the county for that payment minus a deductible.