MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher met with the county commissioners Monday afternoon to discuss items that will affect his budget.
The major item will be the installation of a security door in the hall leading to the prosecutor’s office. The door, with assorted electronic lock features, has been priced at $4,993 and will look like another office door nearby.
The project will utilize the metal scanner the county has in storage. It used to be at the entrance to the courthouse until it was replaced. Thatcher said the project will also include the installation of a DVR system so they have the capability of recording what is on the security cameras.
Thatcher said he hopes the installation of the security door will be completed before the start of the fall grand jury session in September. He said he has been “nervous” about the safety of the grand jury since it began meeting in the county office building instead of the courthouse.
With the fall term, the grand jury will also start meeting twice a month instead of once.
The other item he updated the commissioners on was an upcoming need to have a temporary employee replace an office staff member who will be off for three months on family leave.
Thatcher said he could not replace the staffer on leave, but the crunch of cases is such that non-criminal cases would have to take a back seat to the criminal cases and would result in serious delays in those cases.
The cost of bringing in a temporary employee would probably be covered with money from the 5 percent of delinquent tax collections that are reserved for use by the treasurer’s and prosecutor’s offices.
