JONESBORO — During its Tuesday, Nov. 7 meeting, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $2.3 million budget amendment for the Sheriff’s Office.
The $2.3 million will go to buy Tasers, body cameras, and car cameras for the Sheriff’s Office. Money will also go to several improvements to the Clayton County Jail, including washers and dryers, inmate mattresses, inmate undergarments, inmate uniforms, window grates, and intake sallyport enclosure.
During its Oct. 17 meeting, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners rejected a plan of more than $14.5 million to make improvements to the Clayton County Jail.
The request from Sheriff Levon Allen was for $14,570,411 to pay for Tasers, body cameras, car cameras, washer/dryers, inmate undergarments, inmate uniforms, mobile prison, window grates, intake Sallyport enclosure, and adding eight correctional officers with Tasers and uniforms.
The original amount on the agenda was $8,929,042.
The request failed as there was no motion made to either approve or reject.
In recent months, Allen has made several presentations and requests before the Commission to improve security and living conditions at the jail and to add more personnel.
In a County Commission work session on Sept. 12, Allen proposed the building of a temporary modular jail for about $6.5 million.
The mobile jail proposal was one of many proposals and updates Allen provided to commissioners during the September work session.
The updates and proposals included body cams, watches that would monitor and track inmates, several infrastructure and security improvements, uniforms, new washers and dryers, and other improvements.
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