Tecumseh City Council approves body cameras for police officers

At the Tuesday, Sept. 2, Tecumseh City Council meeting, the council unanimously approved the elimination of the $30,000 capital improvement projects (CIP) line item for one new police car for the purchase of body worn cameras and an audio log.The cost of the cameras, along with adding more server space, is $15,000. The audio log was estimated to cost $8,000 back in March, according to Tecumseh Police Chief Troy Stern. He felt that the purchase of a new patrol car could wait until the next fiscal year. The audio log records all incoming and outgoing phone calls along with dispatch. “We had IT in recently to repair the audio log. They were very surprised to get it up and running,” said Stern. “That was back in march.”The body cameras attach to the officer’s uniform to record video and audio from the perspective of the officers. One body camera was purchased back in March and beta tested. Stern said the department was very happy with the system, though the city would require more server space to store the video and audio, which will be for 90 days unless the data is part of a court investigation, then it would be kept for a longer period. The $15,000 includes the purchase of 12 cameras and additional server space. The camera bought in March would be used as a spare. The dash-mounted cameras currently found in patrol cars are “end of life equipment” said Stern. He said the next logical step is the body cameras. When the department receives the body cameras, it will continue to use the ones in the patrol cars. “We no longer have a maintenance agreement on them [dash-mounted cameras]. If something goes down, it’s down, unless we replace that,” said Stern. Stern said that it could be some time before the department receives their cameras. He cited the events in Ferguson, Mo. caused a spike in orders from the manufacturer for the cameras. The board also approved allowing Tecumseh City Manager Kevin Welch to submit documents to Blue Cross Blue Shield, (BC/BS) the insurer the city contracts with, that Tecumseh may choose to change the effective renewal date of insurance to January 1 along with informing BC/BS and five retirees that the city may change its insurance carrier.Changing carrier would reduce cost, but the five city retirees would probably not be able to continue purchasing insurance as part of the city’s insurance group. Welch felt that it was best to notify those people of that future possibility, which could take effect January 1, 2015. “I am in favor of letting these people know that there’s a possibility that this may be happening,” said Tecumseh Mayor Richard Johnson. “I think that it is only fair to them, since there is a possibility that we will be changing insurance carriers.”“I think the more time we give them, the better off they’ll be,” said councilman Gary Naugle. City council also approved to direct Welch to prepare a report outlining options to consider limiting office use in the Central Business District downtown. This proposal was made several years ago, but council took no action then. What was proposed was a possible ordinance change that would restrict how much of the first floor of a future downtown business could be used as office space, whether it is a percentage of the first floor or a specific frontage of the building. Welch will come back with a report detailing council’s options. In preparation for the November 4 voter approved bond millage, council approved Welch’s plan to mail communication to city residents with information regarding the millage, along with sending out two electronic newsletters. The first mailer would be sent on September 29. Welch also received approval to hold two informational meetings on October 13 and 27, which will be held at Tecumseh City Hall. The cost for the mailers is $2,500 and will be taken from the contingency line item. A the end of the meeting, council moved an item off of the consent agenda that was proposed by Tecumseh resident Lee Walsh. Walsh is asking council to change a city ordinance to allow backyard chickens in city limits, saying residents should have the ability to have up to four hens in an enclosed and secure coop. Council approved directing Welch to prepare a report about the pros and cons of such an ordinance change to be presented at a future meeting.In other business, council: • Heard the second reading, and approved, of the amending of ordinance No. 2-14, Chapter 82 — Utilities, by title only. The amendments to the ordinance are for clarification purposes.• Approved the Tecumseh/ Adrian SmartZone Local Development Finance Authority by-laws.• Approved Ididit’s request to close Maumee Street from south of Mohawk Trail to north of Russell Road on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for their annual car show.