Agreement with City of Austin on commissioners' docket
Hays County could enter into an agreement that would connect the County with the City of Austin’s fingerprint and palm identification system.
The Hays County Commissioners Court will discuss and take possible action to execute an Interlocal Agreement for Hays County connectivity to the Austin Police Department’s Automated Palm and Fingerprint Identification System (APFIS).
According to the interlocal agreement, the City of Austin currently employs a Gemalto Cogent Automated Biometric Identification System (CABIS) for identification processes involved in the booking and criminal justice system.
“The city and county have each determined that it would be mutually advantageous for the County to connect to the City's CABIS, to enter its latent finger and palm print records and latent prints into the CABIS database, and to search the database for matches,” states the interlocal agreement.
If approved, the agreement will go into effect when signed by the last of both parties and will remain in effect until Sept. 30, 2020.
In other business, the court will discuss and take possible action to pass a resolution that will cast Hays County's 1,271 votes for Jenifer O'Kane, a candidate for the Hays Central Appraisal District Board of Directors, which governs the Hays Central Appraisal District.
O’Kane has served as the Hays County Tax Assessor/Collector since March of 2019 when she replaced long-time Tax Assessor-Collector Luanne Caraway after her resignation.
Additionally, commissioners will authorize the acceptance of a $53,956 award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for a State Criminal Alien Assistance Grant Program (SCAAP).
According to the agenda item, “SCAAP provides federal payments to State and local entities for partial reimbursement of costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens with at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions and that are jailed for at least 4 consecutive days.”
Commissioners will also vote to authorize the execution of a $30,170.26 victim services grant.
“The purpose of the OAG Statewide Automated Victim Notification Service (SAVNS) grant program is to assist Texas counties and other entities in maintaining a statewide system that will provide relevant offender release information, notification of relevant court settings or events to crime victims and other interested individuals, promote public safety, and support the rights of victims of crime,” states the agenda item.
The Hays County Commissioners Court meets Tuesdays on the third floor of the Hays County Historic Courthouse at 9 a.m.
