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Police department asks for server replacement as city budget discussion focuses on evidence storage and equipment costs
Summary
Carroll City police staff told council the department’s top capital need is a server replacement to support video and evidence storage, and warned of upcoming equipment expenses for taser and ballistic vest replacement. Councilors pressed staff on backup redundancy, cloud costs and budget impacts.
Brad, the police department presenter, told the Carroll City Council the department’s largest capital change for the coming fiscal year is replacing an aging in‑house server that currently stores surveillance and investigative evidence.
“The server is eight or nine years old,” Brad said. “We’ve pushed it past our limits. The IT department is pushing us to make this change.” He added that older body‑camera and car camera footage remains on the local server, while newer body and in‑car systems are stored in the cloud.
Councilors asked how evidence and body‑camera video would be protected if the server failed. Brad said the department runs nightly backups to a connected system and uses a virtual server to shorten recovery times; however, he said a catastrophic event (for example, a fire or tornado) could still require rebuilding systems from scratch.
“One option is built‑in redundancy,” Brad said, noting the vendor estimate for added redundancy he reviewed was roughly $48,000–$50,000 more. He also told the council that some video storage and new body‑camera systems now use cloud vendors and that cloud storage fees are expected to rise.
Brad said personnel services are the department’s largest recurring cost—projected to be about 89% of the police budget—and noted upcoming union negotiations that could change salary projections.
Councilors also pressed for a clearer accounting of smaller police funds. Brad reported the police forfeiture account is projected to end next year with about $4,625 and described a crime prevention account that draws revenue from vehicle inspection fees.
Brad flagged two medium‑term capital items that will affect the budget: planned replacement of the department’s taser system (current models will be obsolete by 2027) at an estimated multi‑ten‑thousand‑dollar cost and periodic ballistic vest replacement on a five‑year cycle.
The council did not take a vote on police purchases at the workshop; staff will return with refined cost estimates and backups/redundancy options for the server and an updated personnel cost projection after union discussions.
