Finance committee pre-authorizes multiple purchases and equipment upgrades, including police vehicle upfits and cemetery operations funding

The Waterloo City Council Finance Committee approved a series of pre-authorizations to expend amounts over $2,500 for multiple departments and projects. Committee members voted to allow purchases for vehicle upfits, infrastructure equipment, software licensing and cemetery operations. The committee approved a blanket pre-authorization of $64,000 for Central Garage to upfit police vehicles with light bars and equipment; $7,500 for engineering to obtain orthorectified aerial photos; $9,000 for leisure services to produce seven interpretive signs featuring local bird and tree species around Greenbelt Lake (part of the Greenbelt Lake Phase 2 REIT project); and $23,146.96 to clean and replace LED fixtures on north and south exterior Cedar Valley Sportsplex signs. The committee also approved $70,000 for leisure services to fund Fairway Cemetery operations for fiscal 2026. Other approvals included $4,570.18 plus $5 shipping for an HPE Aruba 6200 series network switch for the MIS department; $42,436 for Elements XS annual software licensing and support; $22,636.30 for a fiscal 2026 annual ammunition order for the police department; and $34,760 for annual GrayKey software renewal for fiscal 2026. Sewer department approvals included $70,550 for a new 15 kV switch to replace an existing deteriorated switch; $12,947 plus $150 shipping for a generator for the TV van; and $37,898 for six double-nozzle roto-mix tank mixing assemblies. Traffic department pre-authorizations included $20,000 blanket authorization for sign blanks and sheeting for fiscal 2026 and $21,427 for a traffic cabinet for Broadway and Donald streets. During discussion, the Chair offered a plain-language explanation for one technical term: “If you’re wondering what orthorectified means, it means making a more accurate description of the Earth’s surface,” the Chair said. The series of pre-authorizations was adopted by voice vote with no roll-call tally provided in the meeting transcript.