Members of the City Council responded favorably Monday night to a proposal by Police Chief Shawn Heubusch to purchase four additional cameras to mount in local neighborhoods that are sometimes trouble spots.
Such a camera may have produced vital evidence in a murder and shooting case on Central Avenue last month and Huebusch said the one camera the department owns has proven popular with residents wherever it's mounted.
"We've received a lot of positive feedback around the camera," Heubusch said.
City Council had already approved $3,300 for a second camera but after the Central Avenue incident and a community meeting in Kathy Briggs' ward two weeks ago, support has grown for additional cameras.
"I support the chief on this because this is a quality-of-life issue," Briggs said. "People need to feel safe in their neighborhoods."
With five cameras, the cameras will be mounted in more neighborhoods but they're also easy to move; a process, he said, that requires a bucket truck and a couple of the city's DPW workers and a couple of hours time.
While the cameras are not monitored all day every day, they do record events if evidence is needed and they act as a deterrent, the chief said. They also provide some peace of mind to residents who want quieter neighborhoods.
Heubusch had already sought estimates from three different vendors to supply the cameras and is now asking the council to approve purchasing four at $5,000 to $8,000 each.
The total request is for $28,000 -- the $3,300 already in the budget, about $5,000 from drug asset forfeiture funds, and $20,000 from the dedicated reserve fund.
The council will be asked to vote on a resolution approving the expenditure at its next business meeting.
"I don't care where we have to get this money but we have to get it for these cameras," said Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian.
