Brown County Sheriff’s deputies will soon get new weapons thanks to a grant from the National Rifle Association Foundation.

According to BCSO Captain Vance Hill, Deputy Joe Thomas applied for the grant, totaling more than $8000 which will enable the Sheriff’s Office to purchase eight AR-15 rifles for patrol units, lighting and straps.

Commissioners also approved the Sheriff’s Department leasing a new phone system for the Law Enforcement Center contingent upon an interlocal agreement being reached with the City of Brownwood to pay for the Police Department half of the lease.  The system will be an Avaya digital phone system purchased from Sharco Technologies.  The total system cost is $1912.24 per month with each law enforcement agency paying half.  According to Sharco representatives, the new digital system will be easily updatable and more reliable than the current system.

County Judge Ray West stated that the current system was installed in 2000, when the LEC was first built.  Captain Hill stated that the current system has been having problems since August 2014 and has become obsolete, unable to be updated.  This update to the BPD and BCSO phone systems will not affect the emergency dispatch or 911 lines.  The monthly lease amount for the new system is less than the current system, according to Sharco officials.

Commissioners also approved BCSO purchasing investigative equipment in the amount of $3129.  The equipment will cost $1900 and airtime each year will be $1200, according to Captain Hill.