Farmers Branch council approves $341,912 contract for real‑time crime center, regional drone program
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Summary
The city approved Resolution 2025‑243 to contract with AVI Systems (DBA Forte) for a $341,912 technology build‑out of a real‑time crime center tied to a regional drone‑as‑first‑responder program; council was told ongoing costs could approach $1 million annually and additional grant funding will be sought.
The Farmers Branch City Council on Dec. 16 approved Resolution 2025‑243, authorizing a $341,912 professional services agreement with AVI Systems Incorporated, doing business as Forte, to build the technology components of a real‑time crime center (RTCC) at the police department.
Chief of Police Kevin McCoy told council the RTCC will consolidate existing data streams — license plate readers, static cameras, trailers and records systems — into a single “pane of glass” for intelligence analysts and first responders. McCoy said the system will be responsive to calls for service rather than used for continuous surveillance and that drone launch on eligible calls is expected to reach scenes in 30 to 90 seconds.
“We want to shorten our response time and reduce the time it takes to identify a suspect,” McCoy said. He added the department recently staffed an intelligence detective position funded in the FY26 budget and has already received grant funds for the drone‑as‑first‑responder program and license plate readers.
McCoy described a regional deployment with the city of Carrollton and outreach to Addison and Coppell for future expansion. The agreement with Forte covers the one‑time implementation of display, video and processing equipment. McCoy said additional one‑time IT costs and custom computing are expected and that the city will apply for State Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority grant funding in April 2026 to help offset ongoing operating expenses.
When asked about recurring costs, McCoy said the RTCC’s annual operational expenses could be in the neighborhood of $1,000,000. Councilmembers asked about redundancy and downtime; McCoy said regional partners and vendor maintenance contracts are part of the contingency plan.
Councilmember (speaker 9) moved to approve Resolution 2025‑243; the motion was seconded and the mayor declared the motion passed. The transcript did not include a roll‑call vote or individual vote tallies.
The police chief said the city’s RTCC will also support fire and public works responses for major incidents, allowing incident commanders and crews to get rapid aerial or visual information during crashes, water‑main breaks and severe weather events. Installation was described as targeting January–February 2026, depending on delivery and holiday schedules.
The council’s approval funds the technology phase of the project; McCoy said the city will pursue grant funding for future phases and ongoing costs.
