First-year startup costs would be $194,000, and then drop to about $100,000 for the following four years. Watch video
HAMILTON -- Mayor Kelly Yaede has submitted a request to purchase 120 police body cameras for the township force for almost $600,000 over five years.
Yaede said Thursday in a statement that a request to the township council includes a plan to buy the cameras from Taser, plus related equipment, as well as unlimited cloud-based storage for the footage.
The Axon Body 2 camera made by Taser. The contract with Taser would run five years and the company will replace the cameras in the middle of the contract as well, Yaede said.
First-year startup costs would be $194,000 and the payments would drop to about $100,000 for the following four years for a grand total of $595,722.
Police officers would be outfitted with cameras in the next few months, if approved, Yaede said.
To help fund the plan, Hamilton will use a $60,000 from the state's Attorney General Body Worn Camera Grant the town received through the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
Additional funding will come from the township's capital budget for long-term assets. The 2015 budget allotted $143,000 for cameras.
"Body cameras will protect both our police officers and our residents, building even further upon the high level of cooperation that already exists between our law-abiding citizens and our police department," the mayor said in a statement.
The Taser contract was the lowest of three systems Hamilton police tested, Yaede said.
Hamilton Police Chief James W. Collins also recommended the Taser body-worn camera system due to several factors, mainly the functionality of the software, Yaede said.
Yaede said she hopes the council awards the contract at its Tuesday meeting.
The Trenton City Council approved a contract earlier this month with Taser for Trenton police to buy 150 body cameras.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.