Annual county dispatch/jail costs rising to $18,000

Much of Monday night’s town council meeting was spent discussing the proposed cost increase of dispatch and jail services from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). Currently, the town of Odessa pays $2,500 per year for the service. Sheriff Wade Magers is proposing an annual cost of $18,000, based on several contributing factors.

Magers looked at alternate ways of calculating the billing; using number of calls, percent of usage, population, and other factors. According to his report, the $18,000 figure was the lowest, with some calculations running as high as $34,000. The entire budget f...