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Garden City police recommend five‑year TASER contract to replace aging units; council informed, annual appropriation required
Summary
The police chief briefed council on replacing older TASER devices with TASER 7 units under a five‑year purchasing plan; staff said annual appropriations would be required and part of the cost could be covered by a recurring JAG grant with the remainder from departmental equipment budgets.
Garden City Police Chief presented an informational item on Jan. 13 recommending the city replace older TASER units that are no longer supported with TASER 7 devices under a five‑year equipment agreement.
The chief said the department’s current TASER models are aging and the manufacturer is phasing out support. Officers recommended TASER 7 as the preferred model because it is closer in platform to the department’s existing units, which reduces training complexity. The chief described operational differences: a TASER 7 can hold two cartridges so operators can deploy a follow‑up cartridge without changing devices, and it performs better through winter clothing layers.
Staff presented a five‑year pricing option with an annual cost (manufacturer quote) shown at roughly $27,753 per year under the proposed plan; the department expects to offset part of the annual cost with an existing Bureau of Justice Assistance JAG grant (estimated roughly $13,000–$15,000), with the remainder paid from the department’s minor equipment budget. The chief said the contract contains a non‑appropriation clause so the council would approve annual payments through the city’s budget process and would not be legally bound to years without appropriations.
Council members asked about interoperability and mixed‑fleet risks if the city later stopped buying the new model. The chief said officers prefer consistency for training and that if the city chose not to continue the contract, staff would retain existing supported units and manage the fleet to a single platform if feasible.
Council did not make an appropriation at the meeting; staff said the chief had authority to begin the procurement process with an appropriations clause and that annual funding would be required through the normal budget cycle.
