Council committee advances requests to buy two squad cars and lease 24 Taser Model 7 devices

Police procurement items were discussed and referred to next Monday’s council meeting for action after Police Chief Hamer reviewed estimated costs and operational needs.

Chief Hamer summarized the vehicle request, saying the department seeks two 2025 Dodge Durangos at state bid pricing and that local dealers could not fulfill the required purchase order. He provided a per‑vehicle breakdown that included the base state bid price (about $41,000) plus upfitting costs for lights, sirens, dash cams and cages; he estimated roughly $55,800 per squad and about $111,600 total for two vehicles, with three older vehicles (two Ford Explorers and one Ford F‑150) to be traded in to offset costs. Hamer said the purchase would come from the police protective tax fund and that the traded vehicles were already on a disposal list.

On body-worn tools, Chief Hamer described a proposed five‑year agreement with Axion Enterprises for 24 Taser Model 7 devices. He said Model 7 aligns with the department’s existing training and that the current X2 units are being phased out with parts and support increasingly hard to find. Hamer presented a five‑year payment structure of roughly $21,839 per year and stated the total cost would be about $109,195 over five years. He argued the new devices would enable each officer to have an issued device, improve maintenance through docking/charging infrastructure and allow officers to upload device data more consistently.

Alderman Vazquezi and others expressed support for modernizing equipment and for ensuring sufficient devices for each patrol shift. The chair said both items would be placed on next Monday’s council agenda for formal action; no purchase was approved at the committee meeting.

Next step: both the squad-car purchase and the Axion Taser agreement will return to the council for formal vote.