By Rachel Coleman
The Montgomery Town Board has approved the purchase of a server for the town’s police department at a cost of $16,854 from MCS Tech Services.
“Our current situation is pretty dire with our current server and information system,” said Investigator Ragni with the Town of Montgomery Police Department.
“It was an IT nightmare downstairs,” added Nick Monaco, owner of MCS Tech Services.
Investigator Ragni and Police Chief Butch Amthor explained that the purchase needed to be made as soon as possible due to unfunded mandates passed down from New York State.
Chief Amthor explained that every police department in the state is getting hit with “probably the most significant change to criminal justice in the last 50 years” and the department is not compliant.
“This is nothing that was budgeted for. I didn’t see this coming in 2018. Nobody did. And we’re all on a fast pace to get where we need,” said Chief Amthor, explaining that in addition to the server, the department needs the new Impact 3 system. “It’s not a want. It’s a need.”
Arrest reports, case reports, accident reports and more are all rolled up together in the Impact 3 system, which also integrates with their new LiveScan fingerprinting system and connects them to the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
Chief Amthor said he was planning on budgeting for the Impact 3 upgrade next year, but with the new mandates the town can’t wait. It has to be up and running by January 1.
“I think we should move forward with this tonight, because he’s going to have very limited time to get this in and get it up and running,” said Councilwoman Cindy Voss.
After reviewing three vendors and vetting MCS Tech Services, Investigator Ragni said he felt they were the best choice. The company specializes in government contracts and police systems and operates out of Saugerties.
The board approved the purchase, as well as the selection of Raymond Watts, a retired NYPD detective, as a new part-time School Resource Officer for the Valley Central School District. Watts has lived in Orange County for the last 15 years.