Major security upgrades coming to county facilities, costing taxpayers

GREENSBURG — Following last week’s riots at the U.S. Capitol, county governments are rethinking security.

In Westmoreland County, a new plan is being developed to make their county courthouse even more secure.

”I think this year in 2021, in the first 15 days, we’ve seen a lot of examples of why county government and all governments need to have some sort of security in place,” said Doug Chew, Westmoreland County Commissioner.

County commissioners unanimously approved a nearly $2.5 million contract to a security company out of Homestead to install a new system.

The new system will consolidate about 2,000 cameras and computer software not only at the courthouse, but at Westmoreland Manor, the county jail and the county juvenile detention center.

The forensic building and public works building will also be included in the upgrades.

The upgrades do come with a hefty price tag, but taxpayers should know the buildings are more secure.

“The large number of buildings, the large number of places with cameras, the large number of places where the public can go and interact with their government, we want those places to be safe for all of those people,” said Chew.

Chew added that today’s uncertain political climate did not sway the decision to upgrade the county’s security systems; this program has been in the works for years.

”Because technology really advances at such a fast pace, equipment we started with a decade ago wasn’t serviceable, parts weren’t available. It was really time to start over from scratch,” said Chew.

Commissioners say they expect the upgrade to be completed next year, assuming there are no delays due to the ongoing pandemic.

Cox Media Group