The Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center will be asking for approval to transfer funds in order to purchase new camera equipment. At Monday night’s county council work session, an official with the center explained that the equipment would go towards making the center, located on Cherry Street in Columbus, more secure, while providing a safer environment for those who work there.

Center officials say that the request came about after a number of incidents this year that caused dispatchers concern. These include two occasions where contractors tried to cut locks from gates near the tower, threats to dispatchers over the phone, strange vehicles in the parking lot and people trying to get in to the locked building. Personnel say that not only are incidents such as these unnerving, but some also require dispatchers to leave their consoles to investigate.

The EOC is asking for the transfer of $13,900 to purchase the equipment. This will allow the purchase of four outdoor cameras to better monitor the property.

The request is expected to come before the county council at its meeting next week.