Going into the July 14 meeting, the outlook appeared grim for the public safety proposal.
One week prior to a formal vote, a majority of the members of the Bartholomew County Council had expressed they weren’t ready to approve the purchase of body and dash cameras for sheriff’s deputies due to unknown revenue streams.
A lot can change over the course of seven days.
In a surprising turn, with the help of the Bartholomew County Commissioners, the council granted the request with a 7-0 vote on Tuesday.
Council members agreed to spend $230,238 for the first of a five-year agreement that will provide 57 body cameras and 54 car cameras for deputies. Other related expenses approved by the council included a one-time $50,000 installation charge, as well as $28,500 required by the county’s Information Technology Department for a full module installation.
The first year investment will also provide the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department with unlimited cloud storage, hardware upgrades after two-and-a-half years, staff training, and full warranties.
The decision was a 180-degree turnaround by the council, which has held off on purchasing the equipment for years.
During a July 6 work session, the council held a major concern in the $127,000 fee the county would pay every year from 2021 through 2024. Funds couldn’t be guaranteed to be available for those payments after this year, and the council attorney said that the county had to have all of the required funds before a purchase could be finalized.
While substantial public input played a role in the decision-making process for council members, it wasn’t the deciding factor in the final approval. What changed the council’s mind on the issue was an offer from the Bartholomew County Commissioners.
Speaking with the council, Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz offered to provide $700,000 in county funding that had already been appropriated for exterior upgrades at the Bartholomew County Courthouse. The most pressing upgrades at the courthouse have already been completed, and the remaining projects can wait a year or two, Kleinhenz said.
Thanks to the cooperation and creativity between the council and commissioners, the county’s deputies will soon be better equipped to do their jobs.
A new level of accountability will soon be established between the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. and the general public.
The decision is a major win for everyone involved, as it could potentially protect those on both sides of the badge in the future.
While the addition of body cameras is long overdue, officials should be applauded for making it happen.
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July 19, 2020 at 01:37PM
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County makes surprising, but correct, call on body cameras - The Republic
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