The council is expected to consider final reading of the budget amendment, which will call for the addition of $36,893 to the 2008-2009 budget to pay for upgrades to both hardware and software used by the police department.

Police Chief Lonnie Smith told council members during a previous meeting the cost of the upgrades will be a fiscal wash, as the department has accumulated enough funds due to understaffing to cover the expense.

At the heart of the effort, according to Smith and Howard County Sheriff Stan Parker, is the need for both city police officials and officials with the sheriff's department to be able to share information — including databases — by using the same type of software.

The sheriff's office recently changed over to a law enforcement software package produced by Smart. According to John Kitsmiller, area business manager for the public safety software company, uniting both law enforcement agencies with the same software will make it less likely for criminals to slip through the cracks.

“I'll give you an example. I live in Taylor, which has a population of about 15,000,” Kitsmiller told Howard County officials last year. “Driving through Taylor, let's say I get stopped for speeding by a sheriff's deputy and I talk my way out of it. They let me go, and a couple of miles up the road, I get pulled over by the police department. That police officer has no idea I just talked my way out of a ticket because the two agencies don't share information. I might be able to talk my way out of it again. However, if that police officer knew I had just been pulled over for the same thing, that changes the face of everything.

“Your law enforcement agents want to be out on the streets doing their job, not standing around doing nothing while they wait for someone they've arrested to be booked. With this software, most of the booking information would already be in the system when they got there, and that helps speed things up. It does the same thing for the jail and the courts, so they don't have to keep entering the same data over and over.”

In the end, according to Smith, it's about being able to provide the best service to Big Spring and Howard County citizens.

“This is so the sheriff's office and the police department will have the same data base and the same records management system,” Smith said during a recent press conference. “That way we'll be able to share more information, and we feel that by doing that the citizens are going to be better served.”

Also during Tuesday's meeting, the council is expected to consider:

• Final reading of a resolution approving signatures for the city's depository contract.

• Final reading of an ordinance granting partial residence homestead exemption for 2009 and the same exemptions for individuals who are disabled or 65 years or more older.

• Final reading of an ordinance calling for a 20-percent penalty for delinquent taxes to help defray attorney fees necessary to recover taxes after July 1.

• Award bids for two Xerox machines for city hall and approval to go out on bids for asbestos transportation, disposal and air monitoring for the demolition of buildings located at 901 Goliad.

• First reading of an inter-local agreement with Howard County for the reallocation of funds from the Justice Assistance Grant Program Award and for the county to use the funds for the Combined Law Enforcement Technology Program.

• Approval of an agreement with Howard County for ambulance service.

• Consideration and approval of Howard County Appraisal District's budget for 2010.

• Approval of an industrial district agreement with Alon USA.

• Approval of an agreement for audit services with Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss, LLP.

• Agreement with Texas Forest Service for regional incident management team.

• Approval of an agreement and change order with Dowtech Specialty Contractors for wastewater treatment plant final clarifier and trickling filter rehabilitation.

The meeting will get under way at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the City Council Chambers, located at 307 E. Fourth Street.