Council authorizes police chief to sign new subscription contract for Spillman; annual cost to drop about $5,000
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Summary
Preston approved moving its Spillman public safety records/dispatch system to a subscription model and authorized the police chief to sign the revised contract after city attorney review. Staff said the change will reduce annual costs from a little over $15,000 to about $10,008 beginning with the next fiscal year.
The Preston City Council voted to authorize Police Chief McKemnan to sign a subscription-based contract with Spillman Technologies for public-safety records and dispatch services, after review by the city attorney.
At the meeting, Chief McKemnan told the council the police department has used Spillman since 2009; earlier tools were local systems for reporting. The current maintenance arrangement will be replaced by a subscription model that, according to the chief, will reduce the city’s annual cost from “a little over $15,000” to $10,008, a savings of roughly $5,000 annually. Staff said the vendor plans to switch to subscription pricing on Jan. 1, and the change would affect the next fiscal year’s budget.
Chief McKemnan also described operational benefits: Spillman had previously included dispatch and the ability to connect with neighboring Cache County agencies, a feature the department values for cross-jurisdictional information-sharing. The chief said the subscription contract offered advantages and that he had asked the council to authorize him to finalize the contract after the city attorney’s review.
Council members asked whether the subscription change would affect the planned or existing interface with body-worn camera systems (Axon). The chief said body-camera storage and management are handled separately and were not currently integrated with the Spillman subscription.
The motion authorized the chief to sign the contract after legal review. Council members voted in favor; staff recorded the motion and authorized execution once the city attorney completes its review.
The chief added that Spillman supports dispatching for the sheriff’s office, fire and EMS and that the subscription contract would help all public-safety agencies that rely on the system.