City Council handles issues for JPD

Tuesday morning’s monthly Jackson City Council meeting saw this year’s edition of the Mayor’s Youth Council get sworn in before the elected officials conducted the business of the City.

There were three items on the agenda that generated a few minutes of conversation among the Council members and those presenting to them.

All three were in relation to Jackson Police Department.

The first one was a new business item in which the Council approved on first reading a contract with local security firm Maxxguard for guard services mostly at city parks but also at other venues like The Ned and the Carl Perkins Civic Center.

Mayor Scott Conger confirmed this kind of agreement has been in place for longer than he’s been involved in city government as Maxxguard and other firms that have been in the area in the past have done this kind of work – ensuring parks are closed at closing time and ensuring they stay clear during closing hours at night while also maintaining order at certain events – for multiple Mayoral administrations.

Another one was the consideration of authorizing fees for electronic citations.

Traffic law enforcement technology has advanced that citations no longer have to be on carbon copy paper in which police officers give a copy of a ticket to the alleged speeder that has information about the pending court appearance and fines on it.

Instead, officers are able to fill out an electronic form and send that form digitally to the speeder, which presumably makes things easier as far as paperwork goes and cuts costs.

The authorization, which only applies to all speeding tickets in which a guilty verdict is found, will add $5 to the court costs, and part of that money will go to JPD to fund part of its efforts in traffic patrol.

The other item that generated discussion was a $30,000 budget amendment from JPD’s drug fund to pay for helicopter paint.

JPD has two helicopters – one that’s used for weekly patrol at peak times on a regular basis and another that’s used for training and search efforts throughout the region like missing people or escaped prisoners.

They’re about to get a new-to-them helicopter from the military that will need a fresh coat of paint for JPD branding purposes, but JPD Chief Thom Corley said the paint isn’t just for visual purposes.

“Whenever these helicopters are painted, the paint is removed everywhere and every place on that machine is inspected for corrosion or any other defects,” Corley said. “So the project as a whole is actually more than $30,000, but that’s how much we’re asking to transfer from the drug fund.”

The helicopter they’re getting will replace their older helicopter, which will be used for parts then sent back to the military for them to refurbish or dispose in their standard manner.

In addition to a few rezoning of lots and the closing of a couple of alleys, the Council also approved a new weather service for the West Tennessee Healthcare Sportsplex that can detect lightning in the area and have a mobile device app available so families and park workers can track the weather situation more efficiently.

Attendance report: Candace Busby, Frank McMeen and Marda Wallace missed Tuesday’s meeting.

Coming next week: The Council heard a report on the Financial Empowerment Center. Read about that then.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news