Mayfield Heights council approves five-year contract for body and dash cameras

The Mayfield Heights City Council voted Tuesday to approve a five-year contract with Axon Enterprises for 42 body-worn cameras and 12 dash-mounted cruiser cameras for the police department.

The council approved Resolution 2025-01, which ratifies and authorizes the mayor to enter the contract and declares an emergency so the department could place the order before year-end to avoid a 10% price increase. Councilmembers voted in favor on a roll call vote; the motion was moved by Mr. Balestrella and seconded by Mr. Medick.

The proposal had been presented previously by Chief Mealy, who briefed council on the equipment and the department's grant strategy. Chief Mealy told council the department applied for both federal and state grants to offset the purchase. He said the federal grant award announcement was delayed until February and the state grant remains on a March schedule. He said the department asked for the full amount from each grant and would use one grant to supplement shortfalls from the other if needed.

Chief Mealy described the contract as a five-year agreement that phases equipment replacement: body cameras will be replaced at roughly the two-and-a-half-year mark and dash cameras at the end of the five-year term. He said ongoing costs such as data storage and incidental fees would likely continue if the city renews the service after five years.

The council packet listed pricing and award recommendation. Council members noted the items had been budgeted for 2025 and that earlier action was needed to avoid the stated price increase. No dollar amounts were disclosed during the public reading of the resolution.

Resolution 2025-01 passed on a roll call vote.

The contract requires future attention to grant awards (federal and state) that the chief said may reduce the city's net cost; council did not take any further funding actions during the meeting.