Smile, you might be on a new Town candid camera; 1 of 2 matching grants
Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously during its meeting Thursday, July 10, to approve two resolutions to participate in two grants to make the Town and staff safer and more secure. One key addition will be security cameras.
“The Town’s property insurance coverage provider, Public Entity Partners, offers an annual matching grant for security equipment and devices,” Finance director/Town recorder Allison Myers said about PEP’s Property Conservation matching grant.
In this case, she said the Town is seeking a matching grant to purchase security cameras “to protect insured property from damage and loss.
“Proper security equipment can help prevent harm to Town employees and citizens, protect Town property from damage and may assist the Town in the recovery of stolen property or monetary reimbursement from an at-fault party for damages,” Myers added. “Security equipment will help prevent and record vandalism, theft, damage and general misconduct on Town-owned property.
Additionally, “cameras and equipment will act as a deterrent to such conduct, assist the Town in pursuing legal action when merited and help protect the Town from false claims of wrongdoing or negligence,” she said. “Public Entity Partners will match what the Town spends on approved items to help protect insured property from damage or loss, with the maximum reimbursement amount based on a property coverage classification matrix.”
Another grant, Public Entity Partners Judy Housley Safety Matching Grant, offers an annual matching grant for training or equipment purchases related to driver safety for Town staff.
“The objective of the grant program is to help members address training needs and safety concerns for employees who operate Town vehicles and purchase items designed to reduce automobile liability claims,” Myers said. “The grant is a 50/50 matching grant for training and driver-safety related purchases.”
In a separate interview, Mayor Ron Williams said the Town looks for grant opportunities to offset not having a Town property tax.
“There’re a lot of different sites that you can look for these grants,” he said. “Whenever you find one and think ‘boy, we can do that,’ then you apply for it.”
Otherwise, the money spent on the equipment is “money that normally comes out of our budget,” Williams said, noting the Judy Housley grant will go toward employee training on driving Town vehicles.
Other business
In other action, the Board voted to approve a resolution authorizing the use of comparative sealed proposals in some cases, rather than sealed bids, for procurement of goods and services.
“A part of it is paid for by grant,” the mayor said.
The mayor later explained, in some cases, the Town may not receive any bids for a specific service, and will need to seek out someone who can provide the service. If there is an emergency, such as if pipe bursts cause flooding, a service may require a specific technical skill or equipment.
Overall, “This is another good example of staff working to identify grant opportunities,” Williams said.
