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Tumwater council to place Axon body‑worn camera contract on consent calendar; five‑year program costs about $932,000
Summary
The council voted to place a purchasing contract with Axon Enterprises for citywide body‑worn and in‑car cameras on the Dec. 16 consent calendar; staff said the five‑year contract totals roughly $932,000 and includes unlimited video storage, redaction tools and community upload capability.
Council members voted to place a purchasing contract with Axon Enterprises for body‑worn cameras and in‑car systems on the Dec. 16 city council consent calendar and recommended authorization for the mayor to sign the binding quote.
The police chief (Speaker 7) told the council the program would include body‑worn cameras for all commissioned staff, in‑car camera systems for patrol and school resource officers, unlimited video storage, redaction software for public records requests and a community upload feature that lets residents submit video via QR code. The presenter said Axon will provide installation and configuration and that hardware replacement is planned on a lifecycle (body cameras at 30 months, in‑car cameras at 60 months).
On costs, the presenter said the five‑year contract runs about $186,000 per year and a total five‑year cost of "932,000 plus." He and council members argued there is a pricing advantage to acting before expected vendor price increases in the new year. "Historically, prices have increased by 8 to 10% per year," the presenter said, and staff suggested delaying purchase could raise the city’s cost by roughly $90,000.
Council members also asked about policy. The presenter said a tentative policy agreement with the union is in place and that the incoming mayor will determine how the policy is presented to council. Procurement was described as the next step after council authorization; staff estimated procurement and equipment delivery would take about 60–90 days, followed by orientation and installation.
Council member (Speaker 2) moved to place the contract on the Dec. 16 consent calendar with a recommendation to approve and authorize the mayor to sign; the motion was seconded by Council member (Speaker 3) and council members present verbally indicated support. The motion passed and staff will bring the contract to council consent on Dec. 16 for final authorization and mayoral signature.
