Budget includes increases for public-safety phones, vehicle cameras and multi-year camera maintenance

A budget presenter outlined increases in public-safety communications and camera maintenance funding, saying a multiyear maintenance agreement for camera systems is expected to come to the board at a future meeting. The presenter tied the requested increases to equipment and service changes within law enforcement and public-safety operations.

The presenter said the county currently has 363 desk phones and 507 phone numbers allocated (some numbers are department-level rather than desk-assigned). The budget calls for an increase in a line item for public-safety Verizon modems and more vehicle cameras. The presenter described a proposed multiyear maintenance ("spfillment"/maintenance) agreement lasting several years and said the county would budget that obligation in the current cycle.

The presenter also noted the county originally budgeted for a larger fleet of street (flock) cameras; a $53,000 amount was cut after a city declined to approve the originally proposed number of cameras. The presenter said there are remaining units to budget for (19 units mentioned to finish a procurement) and that, in prior years, replacements were funded from an equipment-improvement reserve rather than line-item budgeting.

No formal vote on the maintenance agreement or final procurement appeared in the transcript excerpt; the presenter said the agreement will be brought to the board at a future meeting.