Bel Air officials outline plan to buy Verkada surveillance system, estimate $199,430; garage option raises cost to $217,439

Bel Air police and staff on Oct. 28 presented a plan to expand the town's public-safety camera network using Verkada hardware and cloud-based analytics, an effort officials say will improve real-time monitoring, license-plate recognition and investigatory search capabilities.

Chief Moore, presenting the item for a future formal vote, said the project would modernize the town's current surveillance system and be compatible with neighboring Harford County systems. "It's gonna be a game changer in public safety and crime fighting ability in the town of Bel Air," he said.

The town proposes to procure Verkada equipment, installation and a five-year software license under a piggyback of Harford County's low-voltage contract (contract 25268). Staff named Infinity Technologies as the Harford County vendor; the town's procurement officer determined piggybacking the county contract complies with the town's procurement policy, officials said.

Staff said the first-phase deployment is currently estimated at $199,430, funded through the commissioner-approved FY26 budget. Chief Moore said that earlier project estimates exceeded $300,000…