Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Police and fire staff warn Axon officer-safety bundle could sharply raise tech costs; grant options explored
Loading...
Summary
Staff told commissioners an Axon officer-safety bundle (body cameras, drones, squad cameras, cloud storage and tasers) would bring recurring subscription and storage costs that could substantially exceed current budgets; the city will explore grant opportunities and grant-writing support to offset costs.
City staff told the commission that a proposed Axon officer-safety package—bundling drones, body-worn cameras, in-squad cameras, tasers and cloud-based digital evidence storage—would be costly on an ongoing basis and could strain department budgets.
During a presentation, staff said Axon's model includes subscription fees and device refresh cycles (roughly every two years) and that the vendor also hosts digital evidence, which increases storage costs over time. "All of those sound phenomenal, but the cost is really there," the chief said. One estimate given during discussion was that a full Axon package could exceed current budgets by a large margin (an estimate of about $300,000 per year was cited during debate), and staff described the purchase as a subscription-based recurring cost rather than a one-time capital expense.
Grant and procurement options: Commissioners asked about grants and whether the city could use grant writers (Lexipol was discussed as a potential contractor) to improve competitiveness for federal or state funding. Staff said they are exploring grant opportunities and prices; they emphasized that some AFG-type grants have historically favored departments that can document comprehensive studies such as a community risk analysis.
Operational trade-offs and alternatives: Staff said the Axon bundle is sold as an integrated officer-safety package; removing components from the bundle can increase unit costs and reduce vendor-provided maintenance/refresh benefits. The department reported existing drones are limited (one large drone is out of date) and that adding a drone program would need additional budgeting for equipment and training.
Next steps: Staff will continue to evaluate vendor proposals, identify grant opportunities and estimate lifecycle costs (including cloud storage growth), and will return to the commission with recommendation(s) before any contract purchase.
Quoted: "They sell these in bundles ... It's amazing. And when it becomes affordable, I think we should do it. But right now ... it's like $300,000 a year," the chief said during the meeting.
The commission did not take a formal vote on acquisition at this meeting; staff will report back with budgetary options and grant strategies.
