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Police and fire ask for equipment and staffing: fleet, body cams and three new firefighters
Summary
Police outlined a five‑year evidence-technology modernization and a 2–3 vehicles/year fleet replacement plan (estimated $88,000 per squad); fire department asked to add three full-time firefighters and pressed for permanent funding beyond SAFER grant terms.
Police officials described a multi-year request to modernize public-safety technology, including next‑generation body-worn cameras, in-car video systems, evidence management software and five years of cloud storage and licensing under a single vendor agreement.
Police also reported post-pandemic price increases and supply-chain delays that pushed the replacement cost of a squad car and its upfitting to roughly $88,000 today. "The total cost in today's dollars to replace a squad car from scratch is about $88,000," the police presenter said. The fire department requested three additional firefighters and proposed funding them beyond the SAFER grant period so the positions can be retained permanently; staff also updated a Station 2 construction budget (originally $10.8 million) with a current estimated cost of $10.2 million and about 25% complete.
Why it matters: These are recurring, high-cost items that affect emergency response and public safety. Councilors asked about electric vehicle trials for patrol cars and department leaders said an electric patrol vehicle is in use as a test bed.
