County commission approves funds for increased JMCSS security, hospital debt resolution
The Madison County Commission approved a resolution for the incurrence of debt by the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital District as well as an increase in new security funds for schools on Oct. 16.
Commissioners approved a budget amendment totaling $150,000 for new security measures in the Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS), while Madison County Sheriff Julian Wiser provided an update on the collaborative effort between the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MSCO) and JMCSS to implement school resource officers (SROs).
Increased security and SROs
On May 10, Gov. Bill Lee signed House Bill 0322 into law a legislative measure aiming to increase school safety measures with a $230 million investment in enhanced security measures across all public and private schools in the state. According to the bill, more than half of that investment, $140 million, was to be allocated for funding one full-time, armed SRO at every school in every county.
The JMCSS constitutes 25 schools and during the commission meeting Wiser said 11 SROs have been hired over recent months, bringing the total number to 20. However, staffing ailments are impeding the department's ability to hire more.
"We've got coverage in all the high schools and the middle schools, and right now what we're doing in elementary schools is we've got rovers that are assigned to multiple schools," he said. "We've still got about nine or ten SROs that we have to hire, so we have to rely on technology to help us police these locations."
Camera systems, through the intelligence platform "Fusus," are placed at all JMCSS schools. Teachers who have the Fusus app can alert law enforcement officials in the event of an emergency, allowing officers to gain access to live surveillance in the respective school.
As the department navigates through a lack of manpower, the use of the Fusus surveillance software will bridge the gap between schools and the police while the search for additional SROs continues.
"If it's an active shooter situation, we can gain valuable intelligence before we arrive," Wiser said.
Commissioner Aaron Ellison (District 7) pushed back on the idea that elementary schools are lacking designated SROs, despite the sheriff's notion that they are nonetheless being patrolled by rovers. Noting "an extreme shortage of law enforcement across the country," Wiser explained that the department is attempting to hire SROs every day.
"I personally think elementary deserves more so than a high school and middle school," Ellison said.
The $150,000 budget amendment for the use of the Fusus software was passed 20-1, with District 4 Commissioner Cyndi Bryant holding the singular "pass" vote.
Hospital debt incurrence
Chief Financial Officer of West TN Healthcare Jeff Blankenship explained to commissioners that when the organization issues tax-exempt debt, they must get city and county approval.
Blankenship sat before the city council on Oct. 6 to note that their approval of the proposed resolution would do the following:
Approval of a current debt transaction in a bond-anticipation note totaling $10 million with future issuance of tax-exempt bonds to go through J.P. Morgan for up to $80 million
Approval of transactions to be named under the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital District bonds rather than the City of Jackson Hospital Revenue Bonds. Blankenship explained that this would both minimize confusion about bond obligation and would absolve the need for city approval in such issuances.
Neither the city nor the county would be liable for the hospital's debt, even if all of the hospital's assets were to be drained.
The resolution passed with seven council members in favor, Larry Lowrance (District 6) opposed, and J.P. Stovall (District 1) abstained.
"We're right in the middle of an EMR, an electronic medical record, replacement, so that's our core technology system and we're looking at moving that to a new platform over the next couple of years," Blankenship said to county commissioners. "That's requiring significant capital investment for us, that's the reason for the debt fundamentally."
Blankenship said that he expects the hospital's capital needs to decrease next year, ultimately allowing them to restructure their debt.
The commission passed the resolution with a unanimous vote.
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This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Commissioners approve new JMCSS security and hospital debt resolution
