Belmont police recommend five‑year Axon package for body cameras and tasers; council hears annual cost figure without units

Belmont police officials recommended a five‑year contract with Axon to replace the city’s aging body‑camera system and provide replacement equipment, integrated software, storage and tasers. Chief Falls told council the vendor will replace all cameras every 2.5 years under the contract, provide software that integrates with the city’s CAD system to auto‑tag calls and reports, and that the new package should speed administrative tasks such as tagging and report drafting.

Chief Falls said the package also includes tasers and built‑in spares to cover current staffing and modest growth. In council discussion a figure of “1.96” was mentioned; staff characterized that as an annual cost under the five‑year arrangement, but the transcript did not specify whether the number referred to thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars. Council members pressed for clarity on recurring annual costs and confirmed the city is budgeting the contract as a multi‑year commitment if approved.

The police presentation emphasized operational benefits: more reliable hardware, fewer out‑of‑service cameras, and automated linkage of body‑camera files to incident reports. Chief Falls and the police team did not propose a rate increase tied to the contract at the workshop; council members asked staff to confirm precise contract pricing and reporting details as part of the final budget process.