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Police seek grant for license‑plate cameras; council generally supportive, grant already applied for
Summary
Leon Valley Police sought permission to proceed with a $53,000 grant application to lease 14 surveillance cameras (license‑plate readers and analytics). The department has applied; the grant would cover roughly half of a ~$100,000‑$120,000 initial package and leave the city to budget operating and lease costs.
Police Chief David Gonzalez told the City Council the department has applied for a $53,000 grant to lease 14 safety cameras that can read license plates and feed alerts to officers. Chief Gonzalez said the cameras are aimed at improving investigations and acting as a force multiplier for patrol by providing vehicle location and historical searches.
Gonzalez described a demonstration showing how a camera can zoom from a wide view to a readable license plate and explained the system’s searchable database and alerting features. He said the vendor would lease equipment and host the footage; the company would handle requests for records and retain footage for 30 days.
The chief estimated the total cost for 14 cameras at about $100,000 and said annual costs to operate and host the system would be roughly $50,000 per year. The grant, if awarded, would cover approximately $53,000; the department would need to identify the remaining funds and ongoing annual budget for hosting and maintenance. Gonzalez told the council the vendor typically structures arrangements as a multi‑year lease and that authorities such as TxDOT must approve cameras on state poles.
Council members expressed support for moving ahead and for pursuing the grant. Councilor Roscoe, who helped lead a citizen advisory group, described cameras as a relatively low‑cost way to extend police visibility. Councilor Bradshaw and Mayor Pro Tem Campos suggested signage and other privacy safeguards where cameras are sited. No vote was required; the police chief said he applied because of the grant deadline and asked the council if it would continue with the application if funding were awarded. The city manager said staff would try to identify budget sources (general fund, limited forfeiture funds or red‑light camera revenues) if the grant were awarded.
The council did not commit to a specific funding source; members asked staff to return with more detail about the annual operating cost and a map of proposed camera locations should the grant be awarded.
