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Sheriff’s office seeks three-year extension of WatchGuard contract for cameras and cloud storage
Summary
Chief deputy presented a proposal to extend the county’s WatchGuard contract for a three-year term beginning August 2027, with an expected total cost of about $190,000 and an annual payment of roughly $63,483; the contract would include a refresh of body-worn cameras and continued cloud evidence storage.
Bill, chief deputy with the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, asked the commissioners to approve a three-year extension of the county’s WatchGuard contract, which covers squad-car dash cameras and body-worn cameras as well as cloud storage of recorded evidence.
“This proposed contract, would have a total cost of around a $190,000 over 3 years, split with 3 payments, in August of each year starting in August of 27,” Bill said, adding the annual cost would be about $63,483. He said the extension would include one refresh of the department’s body-worn cameras and would allow the county to keep existing vehicle cameras for an additional three years.
Bill said the county initially contracted with WatchGuard in August 2022 and that extending the current system is expected to be more cost-effective than switching brands or platforms. He described the contract’s cloud storage as providing redundancy and reliable digital evidence storage compared with on-site storage.
Commissioners asked whether the extension locks in lower pricing; Bill said the county is seeking to “get this offer by doing it now” because prices would likely be higher if the county waited.
The sheriff’s office said the first payment under the extension would be due in August 2027 and that the extension would run through August 2030. The office noted other local agencies have chosen competitor brands but that switching vendors can be costly and disruptive to evidence workflows.
Ending: Commissioners did not vote publicly on the item during the segment; staff indicated they would process the contract extension through the normal agenda and contracting procedures.
