By Staff
Dowagiac will proceed only with installation of video surveillance equipment and not audio, upon the recommendation of the Police Department and information system coordinator.
City Manager William H. Nelson Jr. said they have been evaluating a variety of equipment options with regard to surveillance equipment proposed for downtown and at Rotary Park.
As a result of that research and the city's budget for this project, they recommended proceeding only with installing video equipment at this time.
The recommendation is based on their judgment that to install video and audio equipment that is of sufficient quality to provide good evidence for criminal prosecution would be "substantially beyond our budget," Nelson said.
Their research indicated that by purchasing combined surveillance equipment within the city's price range compromised the quality of both systems.
They feel that very good quality video-only equipment can be purchased and installed within the budget.
The downtown merchants' committee and the Police Advisory Committee, which both worked with the city administration on this project since the issue first arose last year, support this recommendation.
With that in mind, Nelson asked the staff to provide him with a specific recommendation from vendors that furnished video equipment proposals.
Once the preferred vendor and equipment are identified, the city manager expects to authorize a purchase contract for installation of the equipment over the next several weeks unless he hears objections from City Council.
Under terms of the grant Dowagiac received, all funds must be expended before Nov. 20.