Van Zandt County officials review expanded IT, camera and radio costs in draft budget

Van Zandt County Commissioners’ workshop attendees reviewed proposed increases for information technology, communications and security equipment that staff say are needed for elections, public-safety vehicles and county facilities.

County staff described requests that would raise line items for radios and tower service, new security cameras and network hardware, vehicle cameras for sheriff’s patrol cars, Office 365 licenses and several recurring software contracts. Staff said some purchases are one-time capital and others are multi-year service contracts that affect the county’s recurring operating budget.

County IT staff said the county plans to replace aging library and facility cameras, expand coverage to entryways and curbsides, and add external cameras to the precinct service drives. “We’ve been replacing cameras. We’ve done two so far this year. Like, every storm, our camera goes out,” a staff member said during the workshop, explaining repeated storm damage as a driver of replacement costs. Staff estimated unit costs “around $400” per camera for some replacements, and described higher-end network video recorder (NVR) and intrusion-detection options that add annual…