The Bartholomew County commissioners have tabled a vote on providing insurance for drones after some confusion about why the sheriff’s office was bringing the drone issue before them.
Chief Deputy John Martoccia came to the commissioners Monday asking for insurance for drones the sheriff’s office is obtaining. The commissioners thought they would be voting on the purchase of the drones.
Martoccia said that the sheriff’s office did not need to go through a meeting to purchase the drones because they are using non-taxpayer money. The sheriff’s office was seeking $3,500 to insure five drones for a year and hoped to obtain the insurance approval before the purchase.
The total cost of all five drones will be just under $95,000 and will be ordered from DroneSense, a software company based in Austin, Texas, Martoccia added. They will be purchased over the course of next year, not all at once.
“What’s on our agenda right now is to approve the purchase (of the five drones),” said Commissioner Tony London, R-District 3. “We have not advertised the approval of the insurance. I think we need to back out, scratch this off for today and come back next week with the proper advertising.”
Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz, R-District 1, made a motion to pay for the insurance at Monday’s meeting. The motion did not get a second.
Pia O’Connor, Bartholomew County’s auditor, said that the commissioners may not need to vote on the insurance due to the fee being below its threshold of $5,000.
When the drones are purchased and insured, they can be used to search buildings, locate people who are missing and more. The sheriff’s office already has five or six drones, Martoccia stated.
