Conspicuously absent from the roughly $87 million biennial budget, however, are funds set aside for police body cameras and a records official to process requests for footage.
"I was surprised and disappointed this wasn't included in the budget," council member Rick Eskil said at a City Council meeting Wednesday. "Because it's my perception that the council was in favor of this."
In January, the City Council took a step forward in a yearslong discussion about purchasing body cameras for every officer in the largest police force in Walla Walla County. Supporters of the purchase have noted that both the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office and the College Place Police Department have acquired body cameras.
Members of the Chief's Advisory Committee, a group of community representatives formed in 2020 to review department policies and make recommendations to increase trust, had recommended the city move forward with body cameras. Committee members argued that the cameras would not only improve transparency, but would also protect officers and the city against lawsuits.
Last January, the City Council voted unanimously to accept a $90,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to partially fund the program for three years.
At the time, a body camera program was projected to cost nearly $870,000 over five years, or $780,000 after accounting for the DOJ grant.
That estimate included nearly $450,000 for a bundled purchase of both cameras and Tasers from Axon — saving the city $3,000 if purchased separately — as well as camera software, data storage services and other related equipment. It also included around $420,000 to cover the salary of a full-time clerk to manage the additional public records created by the cameras.
If included in the final budget, the program would have constituted less than 0.004% of the city's total expenditures, costing around $312,000 in the next biennium.
"I think it's an expectation from our community," said Council member Susan Nakonieczny at the Wednesday meeting.
City staff cautioned that draft budget presented to council on Monday is balanced, as required by state law, so any additions would need to be matched with cuts elsewhere or finding ways to bring in additional revenue.
The preliminary budget presented Monday is not final, and the Council is likely to discuss the implications of adding body cameras and a records official into the budget during the upcoming Monday, Nov. 14 city workshop.
"Come November 14, we are returning to the budget issue and undoubtedly, among other issues, we'll be talking about this very matter and that is body cameras and additional physician in the police department," said Mayor Tom Scribner.
©2022 Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (Walla Walla, Wash.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
