The Collin County Observer

In the latest development over the equipping of District Attorney investigators as a "Rapid Response Team" complete with automatic weapons, the DA has notified the courts that until they "revise" their Mission, these "courthouse commandos" will not deploy.

In her memo addressed to the Courthouse Security Committee, DA Chief Investigator Novaline Varner wrote:

"The Collin County District Attorney's Office is in the process of revising our Mission concerning First Responders. Effective immediately the Collin County District Attorney's Office will not deploy a First Responders Team from our Office for any courthouse emergency or security matter. We will advise you when our mission study and any revisions have been completed.

"We will continue to support the Collin County Courthouse Security Committee and of course abide by Art. 2.13 Code of Criminal Procedure, Duties and Powers of a Peace Officer."

The lack of a clearly defined mission and agreements between the DA Team and Bailiffs and other Law enforcement agencies was highlighted by the Commissioners Court in their discussion of the purchase of SWAT Team equipment last month. When asked by commissioners about the apparent lack of procedures, Varner responded ",We are working on an SOP, so everybody will know what they're doing. but all of that takes time. While we're wasting time getting through the red tape, we're still training. I don't want us to come across that we're some kind of "Three Stooges" type [operation]."

It is not known if the District Attorney will proceed with the purchase of $25,306.46 in SWAT Team guns and equipment utilizing his Drug Forfeiture Fund.

Bill

Area cities spending millions on IT projects

Sunday, January 31, 2010
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

Even as the ongoing recession squeezes municipal budgets, several cities in North Texas are spending millions on major technology projects.

Frisco, Irving, McKinney, Plano and Richardson are replacing police and fire radio systems, to the tune of $8 million to $25 million apiece.

For most, the technology spending is an absolute need. Mowing schedules can be cut, and staff hires can be frozen, but police officers, firefighters and dispatchers must be able to communicate.

"We can't lose dial tone. We can't lose data," said Steve Graves, Richardson's chief technology officer. "The radio system, that's a crucial part of doing business."

Cities usually try to space out major projects so large expenditures can be spread out over time. But Richardson and Irving are planning to install several new technology systems at once.

Graves said some of his city's project was delayed, including buying $376,000 in new hardware and software for a public safety dispatch and records management system.

"Last year, we were ready to pull the trigger on it," Graves said. "But with a new chief coming in, we wanted to give him input. We don't want to say, 'Here's the system we're giving you. Work your needs around it.' "

At the same time, during a change to the city's radio frequency, the city found that its 18-year-old communications system was in dire need of replacement. That work will cost up to $10 million. Replacing an 11-year-old phone and data network will cost about $1.7 million.

Irving's two-year, $25 million project involves replacing its 13-year-old radio system, retrofitting the city with a fiber optics network and adding a wireless network.

Shane Burton, who oversees Irving's IT infrastructure, said the wireless network will cover the entire city but will not be available to the public. Instead, it will be reserved for water meter reading and other city uses.

Like Irving and Richardson, cities that hit their growth stride years ago, Plano also needs to replace an aging radio system. Bruce Glasscock, a Plano deputy city manager, said Motorola no longer supports his city's 15-year-old system.

Plano's situation is compounded in that growing areas including Frisco, Wylie and Murphy also use its radio system. Frisco in coming months will start using its own system, further changing the area Plano's radios must cover. Plano and its partners will spend about $25 million on the new system.

"It's a major project," Glasscock said. "We've been working with council the last three to five budget years, so we've been ready for it."

On the other end of the spectrum from the landlocked inner-ring cities are Frisco and McKinney?.

"Our system was designed for a 1999 city of McKinney," McKinney Assistant Police Chief Rex Redden said. "In some areas, our officers can't get a signal. Our department has tripled in size, and our land mass has pretty much quadrupled."

McKinney's $8.3 million radio system purchase comes on the heels of a $2 million public safety software and hardware replacement last year.

Scale can magnify even seemingly small purchases. Garland is proposing to spend about $2 million to replace video units in each of its 200 patrol cars.

The department is moving from VHS systems to digital recorders, equipment that Officer Joe Harn, a police spokesman, said hadn't been perfected when Garland first installed recorders in 2005.

A key for all the cities is to use advanced equipment but not to get too far ahead of the curve, especially on critical infrastructure like police and fire radios. Buy equipment that's too advanced, and it may still have bugs to work out. Technology that's too old has a shorter life cycle. So IT directors make purchasing decisions carefully.

read the rest of the article at The Dallas Morning News....

Experian to expand Allen operation, add 300 people

Tuesday, February 2, 2010
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

International credit information firm Experian plans to increase the size of its Allen operation by almost a third.

Experian inked a deal with the city of Allen to expand its operations by 300 people in exchange for increased economic incentives, the Allen Economic Development Corp. said Monday.

Experian plans "additional business operations" at its 300,000-square-foot complex in Allen's Enterprise Business Park. About 600 Experian workers are housed in the facility, east of U.S. Highway 75.

Experian has had operations in Allen since 1993 and is the Collin County city's largest employer. The company has facilities in Allen for several business groups, including its National Consumer Assistance Center and its Decision Analytics, Information Technology and Public Education groups.

"In 2008, we reached an agreement for them to renew their lease for 10 years," said Robert R. Winningham, Allen Economic Development CEO. "Then last summer, they approached us and said they had done an analysis and liked Allen and wanted to sit down and talk with us again."

The new agreement calls for Allen to provide funds to remodel and build new offices in the Enterprise Business Park building that Experian will use.

"We like to put our funds toward infrastructure," Winningham said. "If they don't do anything, they don't get anything."

Winningham said the value of the incentive depends on how much growth the company has. It could be as much as $1.5 million paid over 10 years. But to receive all the incentive funds for the building renovation, Experian would have to invest $30 million.

read the rest of the article at The Dallas Morning News....

One of the oddest bits of the Texas Constitution requires the election of a District Clerk. The District Clerk serves as clerk to all the 9 District Courts in Collin County. It also runs a passport office on Park Ln. in Plano.

When veteran District clerk Hannah Kunkle announced that she would not seek re-election, three Republican ladies filed to secure the GOP nomination to replace her.

Why it is an elective office is beyond me. The District Clerk does not make policy or make decisions that affect taxes or the lives of ordinary citizens. The District Judges and attorney's who use the clerk's office daily are interested in the outcome of this race, they want a friendly, efficient clerk's office. Other than them and the candidates' family and friends ( and a few party stalwarts), I know of no one who really has an opinion. So here is your chance to listen to and decide who you think will lead an efficient clerk's office.

Bill

Here are their opening remarks before the Collin County Conservative Club:

Patricia Crigger

Terrye Evans

Alma Hays

When Judge Curt Henderson announced his retirement, a three person race to replace him on the 219th District Court was underway. The 219th is a court of general jurisdiction, meaning it handles felony criminal trials as well as family law and civil cases.

The three candidates or the Republican nomination appeared at a forum held last night and sponsored by the Collin County Conservative Club. Here are their opening statements.

Bill

Scott Becker

Wendy McMillon

Angela Tucker

The Collin County Observer believes that the District Attorney's race is one of the most important election contests in recent county history.

I have tried on several occasions to record speeches by the three Republican candidates, but unfortunately I have not been able to get a good recording because these guys wander all over the stage and auditorium - delivering their talks "on the hoof". It's impossible to film them with a hand-held camera.

I am grateful to the Collin County Conservative Republican Club who super glued these gentlemen's shoes to the floor long enough for me to record their opening remarks. I hope you find the effort worthwhile and are able to learn something about these contenders who want to be your next District Attorney.

Bill

Jimmy Angelino

Jeff Bray

Greg Willis