Chief of Police conveying information regarding item #26-0378, a request of the Mayor for acceptance of a grant for a body-worn camera program.

Honorable Members of the City Council: With item 26-0378, the Administration is seeking acceptance of funds through the Law Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Program grant. This grant will allow the City to move forward with the contracting of services and purchasing of technology needed to implement a body-worn camera program, advancing its goals of trust building between the Police Department and local residents and increasing transparency. While the City has not yet selected a vendor for the equipment, the Somerville Police Department (SPD) has received initial pricing estimates. SPD is expecting to pursue a subscription-based format for acquisition of body-worn cameras. The upfront cost is estimated to be $181,353.94 in the first year. The awarded grant funds would fully cover the equipment acquisition, installation, maintenance, and training costs for the first year of the program. This includes body-worn cameras with in-camera storage, charging/data upload stations, transfer stations to offload video from the body-worn cameras, and any necessary updates to the devices. The subsequent annual cost is estimated at $95,833.70. The remaining $50,281.06 of the grant funds will be applied to the following year and will be supplemented by City funds. There are no anticipated software costs for this program as the cameras will operate on proprietary software of the vendor and the current IT systems of the Police Department are sufficient for operation of the program. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 (and beyond) Covered by Grant $181,353.94 $50,281.06 $0 Cost to the City $0 $45,552.64 $95,833.70 In addition to the equipment costs, the City will need to fund a 2% increase to the salaries for all members of the Somerville Police Superior Officers Association (SPSOA) per their collective bargaining agreement. The salary cost for the 2% increases is estimated at $105,000. Additional funding may be needed in the future if further program implementation is approved. Please let the IGA team know if there are any further questions on any of the above information. Respectfully Submitted, Shumeane Benford Chief of Police