Council approves five‑year Axon contract for patrol and body cameras at roughly $603,000
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Summary
Parma City Council voted to approve a sole-source contract with Axon Enterprise to move the police department to a new in‑car and body-camera platform; the council discussion covered price, multi-year budget impacts, equipment counts and transition from the prior vendor.
Parma City Council approved an emergency ordinance on June 16 to purchase in-car and body-worn camera equipment and licenses from Axon Enterprise and to move the Parma Police Department away from the department’s prior vendor.
The ordinance authorizes a contract that totals $602,996.10 for equipment and a five-year license arrangement that, as presented to council, includes 15 in-car recording systems, an initial set of 10 additional body cameras, and 90 pro-user licenses for the evidence.com platform.
The safety director explained that the purchase reflects a platform change: the department plans to phase out the current vendor because of image quality, limited functionality and long redaction time. The new platform is used by many departments nationwide, and the administration said Axon offers features (including artificial-intelligence assisted review and a widely used ecosystem) that the city’s prior system does not.
Council questions focused on cost and budgeting. The administration told council that about $120,000 will be required for the 2025 appropriation and will be paid from the law enforcement trust fund; the remaining roughly $482,000 will be budgeted across the next four years. Staff said the purchase price includes negotiated discounts and that the five-year payment schedule is intended to smooth the city’s outlays.
Council also asked about a line in the vendor exhibit that shows a list price comparison and an annualized “savings” figure; staff said the cited savings derive from negotiated discounts on list prices for bundled purchases and are not an apples-to-apples comparison with the current vendor’s historical spending.
Vote and next steps: Council adopted Ordinance 120-25 on a roll-call vote. The safety department will begin transitioning equipment and user accounts; staff said the department cannot operate the new cameras until licenses are active, which was one reason the administration sought emergency passage.
Ending: City officials said they will return to council with budget entries for the remaining years of the five‑year contract and with implementation details for training and evidence handling.