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Council approves Urban SDK license to support police traffic team; initial cost covered by forfeiture funds
Summary
Westland City Council approved a four-year Urban SDK license for the police department to support traffic investigations and analytics. The city will pay $20,472 for the remainder of the current fiscal year, with an annual cost of $27,297 beginning July 2026; initial funds will come from the department's drug forfeiture account, the chief said.
The Westland City Council on Oct. 20 approved the purchase of an Urban SDK license for the Westland Police Department to support traffic-team analytics and investigations.
The agreement is effective immediately and runs through June 30, 2029. The city's initial cost for the remainder of the fiscal year is $20,472; the annual cost will increase to $27,297 beginning July 2026. Councilman Jim Hart moved the measure; Councilwoman Baumann supported it. The motion passed with no dissent.
Why it matters: Council members and a member of the public had asked why the vendor price would rise by roughly $7,000 beginning next fiscal year. Police leadership said the higher annual figure reflects a full-year subscription versus the partial-year charge for the remainder of this fiscal year.
Police Chief (name not specified) explained funding: “So the original 20,000, because it's not in our budget, is gonna come out of [the] drug forfeiture account. That's for the rest of this our fiscal year. And then each year after we have full year, that's why it's more expensive than the remainder of this year.” The chief also said the department expects the license to enhance traffic analysis and enforcement work by the traffic team.
Resident Joseph Warren had raised the $7,000 increase during the public input portion, asking, “what was the evaluation of the traffic team efforts and why the tremendous $7,000 price increase?” Council discussion that followed linked the increase to a full-year subscription rate rather than a midyear proration.
The council record shows no additional limit or contingency attached to the approval. The city did not specify measurable performance benchmarks for the Urban SDK in the discussion recorded on the minutes.
Ending: The purchase was recorded as approved; staff did not announce a specific implementation timetable in the council discussion.
