Sullivan installing 'panic buttons' in courtrooms, county offices
BLOUNTVILLE — “Panic buttons” are being installed in offices throughout Sullivan County government.
Such a system has been talked about and proposed for years.
A committee that oversees courtroom security decided to move forward with the concept in 2010, but funding concerns delayed action until late last year.
That’s when the Sullivan County Commission OK’d spending up to $56,000 to get the system up and running. The money comes from an already-in-place courtroom security fee paid by users of the court system.
The $56,000 figure was to include buttons in specific court system and county offices. Other departments were given the chance to get buttons, too, if they had the money and were willing to spend it from their departmental budgets.
Purchase orders detailing the system’s installation are now on file with the county’s purchasing office.
The “panic buttons” will be connected to a wireless alarm system that will alert law enforcement in county offices in Blountville, Bristol and Kingsport.
According to a presentation made to the courtroom security committee:
•A wireless alarm system will be installed in each of the county’s judicial facilities, as well as the historic Sullivan County Courthouse — which houses such county services as trustee, register of deeds, property assessor, planning, county attorney, county mayor, purchasing, accounting and payroll.
•It is a stand-alone system with no monthly maintenance costs.
•The price includes placement of 40 “duress” buttons and two door sensors at five buildings.
•Additional “duress” buttons would run an additional $325 each.
•The cost does not include connection for city offices in shared buildings in Kingsport and Bristol, but the cities could purchase additional, compatible equipment to establish their own system through the county’s base unit.
•The cost does include an optional pager system that would allow for notification of alarm activation within each facility except the historic courthouse. The pagers would be activated through the alarm system and deliver a message identifying the particular “duress” button that had been pushed.
Among offices in the approved $56,000 start-up plan are: courtrooms, judge’s chambers, district attorney’s office, county mayor’s office, county attorney’s office, property assessor’s office, county trustee’s offices, register of deeds office, circuit court clerk’s offices, and county clerk’s offices.
Not included were offices such as: accounting and payroll offices, central receiving, archives and tourism, county coroner, county election office, emergency management, emergency medical service, health department, highway department, planning, purchasing, department of education, solid waste, and Sullivan County 911.
Those on the latter list, however, were given the chance to add on to the system for $325 per panic button.
According to purchase orders on file with the Sullivan County Purchasing Department:
•The wireless alert system including installation, training, an extended warranty period (for a total of three years), and the base panic buttons and message units for the included offices carries a cost of $52,588.50. That amount will come from the courtroom security fee fund balance.
•EMS requested to be added to the system, for a total of $325, to come from the EMS departmental budget.
•Some of the offices on the “included” list requested additional buttons in their offices, with the funding to come from their current budgets.
•Some of the offices on the “not included” list did request to be added to the system, with the funding to come from their current budgets.
•In all, the additional buttons added to the system carry a cost of $4,880.
•Those adding buttons who were not on the “included list” are: purchasing, central receiving, accounting, planning, archives and tourism, election office, Sullivan County Library, county buildings and maintenance, and the Sullivan County Regional Health Department.
According to information presented to the courtroom security committee last October, the courtroom security fee and litigation tax revenues during the budget cycle that ended June 30, 2011, fell about $3,900 short of the $355,000 spent on current courtroom security efforts during that 12-month period — and the courtroom security account’s fund balance as of July 1 was about $77,400.
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