Potter County approves long-term Axon contract for prosecutor offices to manage digital evidence

County legal staff and prosecutors briefed commissioners on a proposed long-term contract with Axon to provide an integrated digital-evidence and storage platform intended to streamline evidence handling, reduce human-accounting errors, and mitigate risks raised by the State v. Heath case. A county representative said the contract term provides the best price and includes unlimited storage and an integration with the county’s TechShare prosecutor environment.

A presenter described the operational benefits: centralizing evidence storage, reducing administrative burden on prosecutors, and avoiding evidence-suppression risks tied to delays in producing discovery. He told the court that the county will own its data in the Axon environment and that moving now would also produce ongoing storage savings versus current cloud costs.

The court voted to approve the county attorney’s contract for 120 months, billed at $32,908.80 annually as tentatively budgeted for FY26; commissioners then approved a similar motion for the district attorney’s office. Commissioners discussed contract length and an out clause but accepted staff’s recommendation that the longer term reduces future a la carte costs and secures grandfathered features.

The court’s motions passed 5–0. Implementation steps and vendor coordination will follow the contract signature and fiscal-year procurement schedule.