TECHNOLOGY GRANT TO BE A BIG BOOST TO JACKSON POLICE OFFICERS
The City of Jackson has been notified of approval for the COPS 2004 Technology grant, in the amount of $2.1 million, to initiate the Mobile Data Wireless Project.
This is Phase 2 or the grant, said Karen Bell, the city’s director of Finance, Audit and Budgeting. The city received $900,000 last year. The grant is awarded through the federal department of justice for the Community Oriented Policing program.
Police Chief Rick Staples said the Mobile Data Wireless project will install wireless computers in patrol cars. This will give officers the ability to file reports directly into a database, and also will give them instantaneous access to information from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The units are manufactured to fit Crown Victoria and Impala vehicles, of which the police fleet is comprised, so no retrofitting for equipment will be necessary,
Bell said the city expects to receive the official award letter on the grant this week.
ȁThis technology will move our police department into the new century,” Staples said. “It will provide officers with information at their fingertips. It will make their jobs safer and more effective.”
The city applied for the grant in June of this year.
CHANGE IN TRAFFIC CITATIONS STREAMLINES THE PROCESS FOR ALL
A change in the procedure for issuing traffic citations in Jackson is expected to take a load off the staff and phone system at City Court, and help offenders to dispense with their fines more efficiently.
When a driver gets a ticket for speeding, running a stop sign or any other violations that do not require a court appearance, the officer will give the offender a card listing the standard fines for all traffic offenses. Before the change, drivers had to call City Court to learn how much they owed in fines.
ȁProbably 80-plus percent of the calls we get at City Court are about ticket costs,” said Deputy Court Clerk Ken Cole. “By providing people with a list of standard fines for traffic violations, we hope to significantly reduce the volume of phone calls.”
Violations that require only payment of a fine without a court appearance include speeding, negligent driving, failure to yield right-of-way, following too close, disobeying traffic signals and signs and other offenses. Fines range from $35.75 plus $1 for each mile over the limit for speeding, to $48.75 for most others.
Police Chief Rick Staples said the change in process will streamline things for both the court staff and for citizens. By receiving fine information when they receive their citation, drivers know how much they owe and can remit the fine by mail. The procedure eliminates the need to call or go to City Court, unless the driver wants to contest the charge.
ȁWe may have some bugs initially,” Staples said. “It’s a new program and handing out the cards along with the tickets is something our officers aren’t used to doing yet.” A couple of occasions already have occurred in which the officer failed to give the driver the card with the ticket. If such omissions persist, Staples said, the officer responsible will be corrected.
ȁOur intent is to make things a little more efficient for our citizens and our court staff,” Staples said. “Before, they always had to call the court to find out what fine they owed. When we get this working, that no longer will be necessary.”
NEW DOOR LOGOS ON CITY FLEET REPRESENT SPIRIT OF TEAMWORK
A new look on official City of Jackson vehicles is aimed at conveying a clear message: the City of Jackson workforce is a unified team whose mission is public service.
The new door decals on City vehicles depict the city’s name in gold letters against a blue field in the shape of Tennessee. Beneath, lettered in the same dark blue, is the city motto, “At Your Service … And Beyond.”
Conspicuously absent is the name of the department to which the vehicle is assigned.
The new logos are gradually replacing the old ones, which simply had the seal of the city on the door with the department name below it. Public Services Director Johnny Williams says the exclusion of departmental designations on the new door decals is deliberate.
ȁWe are the City of Jackson, Tennessee; we are not departments,” Williams said. “We want everything we do to point that out. When you start talking about departments and identifying vehicles by departments, you lose that bigger picture.”
The change is in keeping with one of Mayor Jerry Gists goals, set forth when he began a series of long-range planning and discussion sessions with department heads and key city employees about two years ago. Throughout those meetings, he stressed the importance of projecting an image of commitment to service backed up by a unified workforce committed to providing it.
ȁWe are looking for consistency in our image and identification,” the mayor said. “We are trying to implant our mission and motto into the minds of our constituents, and perhaps most important, trying to move our employees into a mindset of one city, not a number of separate departments. We hope our efforts help, at least in a small way, to implant a better spirit of unity in the community.”
Public safety vehicles, such as police and fire, obviously will continue to bear their departmental identity. But the rest of the city’s cars, trucks and vans, from Health & Sanitation to Recreation & Parks, will sport the new logo.
Some of the older decals were successfully removed with no damage to the car’s finish, and new decals were installed. Others will be changed as old vehicles are rotated out of the fleet and replaced with new ones. It costs the city about $6 per vehicle to apply the new logos.
And, according to department heads, people are noticing.
ȁI have had several people ask me about them,” City Engineer Mike Harris said, “and everyone seems to think it is a good change.”
Street Maintenance Superintendent Gary Leforgee said he had heard some complaints that the new logos got a little lost on larger vehicle doors because of their size, so a slightly larger version of the same design will be produced for trucks. “Other than that,” Leforgee said, “everyone thinks the logos are sharp.” To see the New Logo click on this link. New Logo
REMAINING WESTWOOD GARDENS RESIDENTS GET FINAL NOTICE
The City of Jackson is sending final notices to the 10 people still living in Westwood Gardens that they must vacate the complex by Jan. 1 of next year.
In 2000, the city notified occupants of the low-rent housing units that all the structures in Westwood Gardens would be razed over a five-year period. Some began the moving-out process immediately and of the 150 units originally built there, 130 already have been vacated and leveled. Half the remaining units are not occupied.
This year, city official decided to open the Westwood Gardens property to private development. Chief City Planner Stan Pilant said letters will be sent to developers asking for their proposals on how they would use the land.
Westwood Gardens was built by the federal government in the late 1930s as temporary barracks for employees of nearby Milan Army Ammunition Plant during the buildup to World War II. The 150 units had an estimated life span of about 25 years. In 1949, the federal government gave the property to the City of Jackson.
In the final notice letters Mayor Jerry Gist urges the remaining Westwood Gardens residents to utilize the counseling and relocation assistance offered by Jackson Housing Authority. Requests for extensions will not be considered as residents have known for five years that they must move.
BIG TURNOUT URGED TO SEND OFF DEPLOYING GUARD PERSONNEL
Citizens are urged to join a big sendoff for headquarters personnel of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 194th Engineer Brigade, which leaves Monday morning, Nov. 1, for deployment overseas.
The Jackson-based headquarters unit is expected to roll out from the Tennessee National Guard Armory at approximately 9:30 a.m. Motorists are asked to park along the shoulders of the road, as far off the pavement as possible, and wave to the troops as they pass. Members of the City of Jackson’s Ambassadors Club, who will be in vehicles marked with yellow pompoms and balloons, will have 500 small American flags to distribute to spectators for waving along the departure route.
The assigned route for the rollout is from the Armory to Interstate 40 along F.E. Wright Drive. The Jackson Police Department and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department will lead the procession. Jackson Fire Department will have equipment stationed at the intersections in a show of additional support.
Brig. Gen. Jimmy Welch, commander of the brigade headquarters unit in Jackson, will be deployed with his troops, according to Maj. Joseph D. Lane, administrative officer for the brigade.
