Pipestone County approves Motorola RMS/CAD upgrade and body/squad camera purchase

Pipestone County commissioners voted Nov. 25 to move forward with a consolidated Motorola records-management, computer-aided dispatch (RMS/CAD) and camera package after a multi-year vendor review and budget discussion. Sheriff Keith Raymond and county IT staff said the package pairs Motorola’s RMS/CAD software with squad and body cameras and a cloud-based video storage and redaction workflow intended to reduce staff time on data requests.

The sheriff told commissioners the county began vetting replacements after repeated vendor changes and diminishing service with earlier systems and narrowed competitive options to two vendors. "We started vetting new RMS computer aided dispatch and mobile software... and through from 2022 till current day, we basically narrowed that down to 2," Sheriff Keith Raymond said during the presentation. He outlined goals including restored vehicle and deputy mapping, improved evidence handling and automated redaction using AI tools.

County staff described the financial plan and timeline: the packet includes a 10-year cost comparison of bundled Motorola and a Central Square alternative, and the Motorola package was presented as the more fiscally favorable option over a decade. The first-year payment milestones were described in the packet; the sheriff said the initial camera implementation outlay is roughly $54,009.35 and that $45,000 of that could come from previously designated equipment funds, leaving about $9,000 to be covered from other internal sources. The county also plans to apply about $119,935 from 9-1-1 funds toward the RMS/CAD portion and expects recurring annual payments to come from 9-1-1 revenue and operating budgets.

Commissioners asked about vendor support, storage and the redaction process. IT staff confirmed video would offload to a secured government cloud and retain originals with chain-of-custody logs; AI-assisted redaction would reduce manual staff time. One commissioner asked whether the county’s IT team would be responsible for conversions; county IT staff said the vendor would handle conversions but local IT would provide access and support.

During discussion commissioners also raised implementation timing and lifecycle: vendors estimated squad and body cameras could be operational within about 60–90 days of contract start, while RMS data conversion and full deployment is expected in a longer timeline with a target go-live around January 2027. After discussion the board voted by voice to approve moving forward with the Motorola RMS/CAD and camera package.

The approval authorizes staff to proceed with contracting and payment milestones in the packet; the sheriff and IT staff will return as needed with final contract documents and budget adjustments. No litigation, ordinance or statute was adopted as part of this action.