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Somerset County approves $839,767 camera contracts with AXON for sheriff and jail
Summary
The Somerset County Commission unanimously approved two AXON contracts totaling $839,767 to provide body cameras, vehicle cameras and related software for the sheriff's office and county jail, with county officials saying budget adjustments and grant applications will offset most costs.
The Somerset County Commission on Sept. 18 approved two contracts with AXON to supply body cameras, vehicle cameras and related software for the Somerset Sheriff's Office and the county jail.
County Administrator Tim Curtis presented contract figures to the board, saying, "Administrator Curtis showed the Commissioners the total contract price of $733,251.64 over five years for cameras and software used by the Sheriff's Office and a second contract price of $106,515.40 for cameras to be used at the County Jail." Finance Director Patrick Dolan said start-up and software costs could be absorbed into the current budget, allowing roughly $110,000 per year to be spread over the next four budget cycles; Curtis estimated the net taxpayer impact would be a roughly $50,000 increase to the sheriff's budget after replacing an existing $57,000 vehicle-camera expense.
Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 24-184. Commissioners asked about grant funding; Sheriff Dale Lancaster said several grants have been written to cover portions of the project and are pending approval. The board discussed timing and budget treatment but did not delay the award. The contract includes multi-year software and equipment provisions that county staff said will be implemented over several budget cycles.
Next steps: staff will proceed with the AXON contract implementation and pursue grant approvals; the county indicated it will incorporate the recurring costs into upcoming budgets.
