DICE says new cloud camera system removes five years of maintenance line items; software subscriptions drive budget growth
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Summary
DICE officials told the council that a shift to a cloud-based Verkada camera system removed annual maintenance line items for the first five years, while added software subscriptions explain most of the year's budget increase.
Representatives from DICE, the city’s digital infrastructure division, briefed the Common Council on the department’s 2026 budget as part of departmental reviews following the Oct. 15 public hearing.
DICE staff said the city has been replacing older camera systems and consolidating maintenance under DICE. The new Verkada cloud-based platform, installed in phases this year, carries no annual maintenance costs for the first five years because the city pre-purchased five years of support; DICE staff estimated that saves about $26,600 a year across departments while hardware support will eventually become an operational cost after year five.
Council questions established that the city has roughly 120 non-Flock cameras in public buildings, parking garages and on the commons; DICE staff said cameras are not currently mounted on streetlights or in most parks but the cloud model would make such expansion technically easier in future. DICE said footage is retained for 30 days by default; any footage pulled as evidence or archived within that 30-day window can be retained indefinitely.
Budget increases from 2025 to 2026, DICE staff said, are primarily the result of new or expanded software subscriptions and services: an OpenGov budgeting/reporting module, CivicPlus website services, Siteimprove analytics and an enterprise password manager were cited as examples that raised recurring equipment maintenance and licensing lines. Staff also noted that some previously approved over-target requests (OTRs) such as cloud Office 365 backup were folded into the 2026 baseline.
Council members asked about options for expanding cameras to light poles and the need for cellular or communications services if cameras were sited off-network; staff said those costs and power requirements influenced earlier decisions and remain part of any future expansion analysis.
DICE said it would follow up with an exact camera count and more granular retention policy detail for council.
