Port Richey City Council voted on Oct. 14 to approve a 10‑year officer safety package from Axon that includes body‑worn cameras, in‑car cameras, new tasers, cloud storage and integrated report‑writing software. City Manager Andrew Butterfield and police leaders described the purchase as a multi‑year, subscription‑style contract that covers hardware, software, cloud storage and periodic equipment refreshes.

Butterfield and the police chief said year one will cost about $99,929 and that the city negotiated lower multi‑year pricing compared with single‑year quotes. The contract includes scheduled upgrades—new body cameras every 2½ years and in‑car cameras every five years—and unlimited cloud storage for the 10‑year term, the chief said. The package also includes AI transcription and draft report generation features the police chief said could reduce officers’ time in the station and speed evidence redaction.

Council discussed training, privacy safeguards and staffing for video redaction. The police chief said the Axon system provides automated activation (for example, when lights are turned on, a body camera will begin recording) and a “buffered” recording feature that can save a short pre‑event span to cloud storage if needed. The chief said the software’s AI can assist with redaction and that staff will still review footage before release.

Councilmember questions addressed ongoing costs, grant opportunities and whether the city has the hardware and IT to integrate the system; staff said current computer upgrades were underway and that initial implementation, installation and training are included in the quoted price. Council voted to approve the contract and budgeted the first‑year sum from public safety funds.

The council also asked staff to return with a short demonstration and more detail on training and the future cost profile for inclusion in subsequent budgets.