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ALBANY, GA --
Dougherty County commissioners met this morning, approving a contract that outsources the policing of probation offenders to an outside company.

"They literally put together a contract for our community, relative to probation services, and monitoring and regulating probations services," said Commission Chairman, Jeff Sinyard.

With each offender needing to be, "checked up on" regularly, the commission voted for the tenth straight year to outsource that responsibility to, Judicial Alternatives of Georgia Incorporated......something commissioners say saves tax dollars in the long run.

"We can do it at a less cost than it would be to have the sheriff's office or Dougherty County Police to have to follow up on every one of those probation people," said Commissioner Ewell Lyle.

"It was the most cost effective way to do business, and we're always looking for ways to save money," said Chairman Sinyard.

And although it might seem like a hassle to push that responsibility outside the county government, commissioners emphasize that doing things internally  isn't always the best solution.

"A lot of times people think that if you do it yourself it's gonna be less expensive. But in this particular case, because of the labor and man hours that are involved, it is cheaper for us to outsource it," said Commissioner Lyle.

The commission will meet again next Monday for their regular work session at 10:00 am.