Council approves $15,000 police policy subscription to keep manual current

The Indianola City Council voted to authorize a subscription service for the police department that staff says will provide an updated policy manual and automated, ongoing updates tied to case law and state law changes.

Staff said the subscription (a recurring FY27 cost of about $15,000) will get the city an out‑of‑the‑box, legally defensible policy manual and offload the staff time required to rewrite and keep the manual current. "This is a one‑stop solution that essentially gets us an updated and current policy manual, and then would keep that current, for the duration going forward," Jake (city staff) said.

Council members pressed staff on whether the city had performed a full cost‑benefit analysis and how recurring costs would be covered. Jake responded that the upfront FY27 expense would be covered through identified salary savings in the police department and that ongoing costs would be built into future budgets. Chief Hawkins noted the city lacks in‑house policy specialists and said outsourcing maintenance reduces liability and the need for heavy legal review hours at $250/hour.

Council member Melissa (unnamed in transcript) said she supported mitigation of risks but wanted caution about adding recurring expenses to an already tight departmental budget. After discussion, the council carried the motion and approved the subscription on the roll call.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the subscription agreement and plan the transition; the police department will implement Lexipol and adjust ongoing budgets to cover the recurring expense.