Committee advances $20.99 million Axon contract amendment to full council

Cleveland — The Cuyahoga County Public Safety and Justice Affairs Committee on Tuesday voted to send Resolution 20250363, an amendment to a previously authorized Axon Enterprise contract, to the full county council under second-reading suspension.

The resolution updates how the contract — authorized at a not-to-exceed $20,992,729.28 — will be funded after legal review showed some intended purchases could not be paid from the jail commissary account. Jared Zobrataski of the county law department told the committee the amendment removes commissary funding from the original distribution (36% general fund, 37% federal equitable sharing, 27% commissary) and replaces those commissary allocations with general-fund dollars.

Why it matters: Moving commissary-funded items into the general fund shifts roughly $646,000 in 2026 and about $618,000 in 2027 onto the county’s general ledger, according to figures provided by the sheriff’s office. County staff and the sheriff’s office described potential revenue offsets but said some options had been blocked by the county administration.

Sheriff’s office representative Chris Costin said the sheriff’s department originally believed the purchases qualified for commissary spending but that the Ohio Revised Code prevents certain commissary uses today. He noted House Bill 397 passed the Ohio House in November; if the Senate approves a comparable measure and the governor signs it, the purchases could again be eligible for commissary funds and staff said they would seek to move funding back.

Costin outlined possible offsets that could reduce the general-fund burden, including collecting commission revenue from Securus services such as TextConnect and tablet subscriptions. Costin said a Securus representative estimated the county could recover roughly $200,000–$300,000 annually by adding available commission programs and higher commission rates; he added that an earlier effort to amend the Securus contract was halted after an internal email from the chief of staff instructing staff not to pursue those changes. "We were just told don't go forward with these commissions," Costin said.

Committee members pressed staff for specifics on what the Axon contract covers. Costin said the procurement includes new body cameras and tasers, drones, Axon multimedia and investigations modules, and other hardware and software; fixed countywide building cameras were described as part of a separate IPS contract.

Facing an outstanding invoice, county staff requested the committee suspend the normal three-reading process so the item could move to the full council. A motion to advance the resolution under second-reading suspension was made and seconded; members voted by voice and the chair declared the motion approved.

What happens next: The amended resolution will go to the full Cuyahoga County Council for consideration under second reading suspension. Committee members said staff would continue to pursue revenue-offset options and, if legislative changes occur at the state level, to seek restoring commissary funding for eligible items.

Statement attribution: Jared Zobrataski is identified in the transcript as representing the county law department; Chris Costin is identified as speaking for the sheriff’s department. Other committee members asked questions but were not named in the transcript.