Morton approves 10-year Axon contract to extend in-car and body-camera system

The Village of Morton Board of Trustees on Monday approved a 120-month agreement with Axon Enterprise, Inc., to extend the village’s existing in‑car camera and cloud evidence system, add two in‑car cameras and include a hardware refresh at year five.

Chief of Police (unnamed) told trustees the village is currently in the third year of a five‑year contract with Axon and that the proposed agreement would convert remaining term credit into a new, 120‑month contract. "This would be a hundred and 20 month contract from the date of signing in the amount of $323,302.82," the chief said, adding the village would realize a cost savings of "$107,740.64" over the 10‑year period. He said the contract is inflation‑protected and includes a year‑five refresh of hardware.

The chief said Axon is the department’s primary vendor for its integrated evidence ecosystem, which the department moved to cloud‑based storage. "Axon is pretty much our exclusive dealer for all of our technology," he said, noting the system bundles taser, body‑camera and in‑car camera footage on a single dashboard favored by the state's attorney for evidentiary review. The chief also said the village plans to keep retired backup vehicles equipped with cameras so equipment is available in emergencies.

Trustees moved to approve the resolution authorizing the agreement (Resolution 0926). Trustee Cirelli, Trustee Leach, Trustee Barrett and Trustee Lanier voted yes in the roll call; the clerk announced the motion carried.

Discussion versus action: trustees had a brief discussion and asked questions before voting. The board’s formal action was the vote to approve Resolution 0926; no additional direction to staff was recorded.