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<br />Police Captain Bruml replied part of the estimate is for storage. He stated the cameras are not the <br />bulk of the cost, the main piece is storage, and redaction which is time consuming. He stated to <br />have that working well is very important, that is what led them to pursue Axon versus Panasonic. <br />He stated several years ago they started with about $80,000 and are now up to $360,000. They <br />were pretty set on Panasonic until about three years ago. That quote got up to $299,000 and at that <br />point he asked for due diligence because it was so far from the original $80,000. He stated that is <br />what, from many different organizations including Anoka PD and Elk River PD, was giving <br />feedback with issues Panasonic had with the cameras and with redaction. They have decided they <br />would prefer Axon but are not at the point to buy because they need public input and Council <br />approval. He stated the officers he spoke to want the cameras for protection to be able to record <br />the officer’s version of what happened when going on calls especially in domestic situations. He <br />stated he wanted this purchase to go ahead and not wait. <br /> <br />Mayor Kuzma commented there is consensus to go ahead with the cameras but expressed concern <br />that if there are not enough funds available that it should be a line item in the budget for that. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund replied it has been said that the ARPA funds will cover the cost of the <br />police cameras so what ever the cost is will come from the ARPA fund and what ever is remaining <br />is what is spent, most likely on the roads. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff referenced the heading Capital Outlay, noting there is an upgrade or <br />replacement for the squad video cameras. He asked if that is so they work together and is that an <br />ARPA eligible fund as well and should they be looking at that as a funding source as opposed to <br />the General Fund. <br /> <br />Police Captain Bruml replied Councilmember Woestehoff was right, it is so the cameras work <br />together and store cases together. The Panasonic system that is in now has been great for the squad <br />cameras and he had no doubts about it for that but when working with two systems they would <br />need to request a full time person for evidence management because now with the addition of the <br />body cams there would be two sets of camera data and different ways of producing videos for <br />court. Also the video trigger for the cameras to turn on would be different. He stated there are <br />many benefits to having one system eventually but they are trying not to do it all at once because <br />it is a large price tag. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund replied in regard to the ARPA funds, when they made the special ruling <br />that anything $10 million and under was considered a funding loss for the cities it can be spent <br />towards any item. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund continued review of the Staff report. <br /> <br />Councilmember Riley referenced Finance Director’s information about an increase in health <br />insurance and asked if that is a known increase or if it is an estimate. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund replied that is a known increase from the carrier. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / July 12, 2022 <br />Page 10 of 12 <br /> <br />