Several Fisher County residents spoke out on Monday, questioning why commissioners were pushing back on having GPS tracking systems installed on county vehicles, saying the active avoidance of a common practice for accountability was shameful.
It was Commissioner Dexter Elrod who proposed Monday morning’s discussion regarding the installation of GPS systems on county vehicles, saying he was unaware how much the county would spend on the installation, nor did he understand why that decision did not come before the court. Elrod said he recalled having several discussions about installing the systems during budget planning, but to that recollection, GPS was something the commissioners agreed they did not want to do.
The commissioners first discussed GPS systems during budget talks in August, initially interested in the possibility the monitoring system could double as timekeeping devices. At the time, the court was engaged in controversial and often heated discussions regarding employee's salary, and time clocks and employee tracking was a point of contention between the court and other County offices.
Elrod gave a detailed explanation of one particular vehicle tracking model, covering its ease of installation as well as covering several applications for the device in addition to tracking the vehicle. He spoke differently regarding GPS systems in later meetings, saying he could not see a need for tracking county vehicles, as the commissioners always knew where their hands were working.
Commissioner Gordon Pippin said early on he thought that installing GPS tracking on county vehicles would, “probably be a good idea,” and has continued to show his support in the matter. Last year a belly dump and truck were stolen from his precinct and were not recovered.
Despite this truth, Pippin’s fellow commissioners did not agree with installing the systems. Commissioner Preston Martin said he felt that since maintaining the GPS service agreement was a contract, that contract should come before the court for approval.
Fisher County Auditor Becky Mauldin reminded the commissioners — as she has in prior meetings — the installation of GPS systems for the purpose of better tracking and accountability of county vehicles falls within the mandate of her office, and, therefore, approval from the court is not required for the county to proceed with installing the devices.
“I don't need permission from the commissioners to do that. It's part of my duties as auditor,” said Mauldin, posing a question as to what issue the commissioners had with having the devices installed.
“Expense for one,” said Martin, pointing out the system’s $8,000 annual service agreement. He also said he believes installing an aftermarket GPS system would void the warranty on the CAT’s.
The Chronicle reached out to the company to confirm. A representative of Warren CAT in Lubbock responded in an email stating, “CAT will cover warranty on workmanship and failure of a part that has not been altered. Installing a GPS system *correctly* will not deny you access to CAT warranty.”
Fisher County resident Chris Kiser addressed the court, saying he has worked in fire services for several years, and every truck, ambulance, or city vehicle in Sweetwater has had GPS for years. He added that GPS tracking was such a widespread standard operating procedure, for the commissioners to say they didn't want it was absurd.
The court approved roughly $500,000 in equipment purchases last year, adding to maintainers to what at the time was a complement of 13 to maintain the roughly 600 miles of Fisher County roads. Accountability for these vehicles is something Kiser said he wanted to see as a taxpayer.
“As a taxpayer, I want accountability for the money being put into these vehicles,” said Kiser. He continued on to say that there are too many boards, councils, and courts, in too many places, that failed to be responsible to their citizens. “It's time to start being accountable for the money taxpayers pay.”
Commissioner Kevin Stuart said being responsible with taxpayer dollars was exactly what he was trying to do. He said there are a number of issues with installing this type of system, one of the primary concerns was its unknown effect on the equipment's electrical system due to the way it is installed.
“You're making up stuff as you go,” said Kiser, asking if Stuart actually believed that the company is installing the equipment could manage to get it right everywhere except Fisher County. “I'm ashamed of what's going on. This is ridiculous. This is a nobrainer issue.”
Over the next few minutes, the commissioners continued to discuss various concerns and heard additional input from citizens in attendance. Overall, provided the system utilized did not interfere with equipment warranties, commissioners were ultimately stoic in their agreement.
“I think we can put this issue to bed,” said Mauldin “We’re going to put the GPS systems on the vehicles,” adding that if the commissioners found an alternative GPS system than the one proposed, substitutions could be made at that time. She said, “I think it’s something the county needs, and we’re going to press on with this.”