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Finance committee holds police in-car camera pilot pending hiring-delay savings; accepts partial reductions
Summary
The committee discussed a proposed 30-car in-car camera pilot and policing hiring delays; members agreed to accept some department reductions and to consider roughly $510,000 for a camera pilot alongside an agreed $600,000 hiring-delay savings figure, with follow-up required.
The committee questioned the police department's request for a pilot program of 30 in-car video cameras and detailed protocols for activation and retention of footage.
Police representatives described operational benefits including officer safety, training review and complaint investigation support, and noted several activation methods (automatic on pursuits or when lights are activated) and audio capture. The chief said systems vary and that the department would develop specific operational protocols during procurement.
The committee also examined the department's budget for overtime, academy class timing and hiring delays. Budget analysts and police finance staff reported that prior-year delays produced substantial salary savings used to plug overtime gaps. After discussion, committee members agreed to accept an additional $600,000 in hiring-delay savings and to hold the $510,000 pilot funding as a policy matter to be finalized after staff follow-up.
Attribution: Police chief and Ken Bukowski, CFO for the police department, answered detailed questions about staffing, overtime drivers and academy schedules; Ken Bruce from the budget analyst's office provided projections of hiring-delay savings. Committee direction calls for procurement and a memorandum of operational rules prior to final appropriation.
Next steps: The department was directed to provide a detailed procurement and activation protocol and to identify how the $600,000 hiring-delay savings are distributed between uniform and miscellaneous pay before the camera pilot is approved.
