The Butler County Commission unanimously approved an order for Verizon Connect vehicle GPS tracking and forward/rear-facing cameras for selected vehicles in the Department of Aging and the Department of Public Works.

Ryan Atkinson, assistant county administrator and finance director, said the county researched several vendors and chose Verizon because the county already has a relationship with that carrier and it was the lowest-priced option. He said the systems would not be monitored live but would store recorded video and GPS traces that can be retrieved after incidents.

“This is a preventative measure. It's a risk measure, and we wanna sell it as that,” Atkinson said. He described a recent complaint against an aging department vehicle in which a camera could have shown the county had no liability.

Atkinson and public works director Curtis Mader described a pilot rollout: forward and rear-facing cameras for high-liability vehicles (tandem dump trucks and similar units) and GPS-only units for lighter trucks and supervisors. The county expects a nine-month introductory billing period after a three-month free trial and said Verizon will include installation and calibration.

Commissioners raised employee privacy, driver morale and policy questions. Staff said reports and alerts will go to the county administrator’s office, not directly to individual supervisors, and that the county intends to develop policies and best practices for handling speeding or other alerts as the pilot progresses.

The Commission moved to approve the purchase for the Department of Aging and Public Works; the motion passed 4-0.

Why it matters: County leaders said cameras and GPS tracking can reduce liability from “he said / she said” claims, document incidents for law enforcement or insurers and improve asset management during operations such as chip sealing and snow removal.

What’s next: Staff will proceed with the initial rollout as a pilot, install devices per Verizon’s service, develop internal policies for alerts and data access, and return with implementation details as needed.