Aug 31, 2022 3 min read

A trial run with body cameras for Washington police officers appears to have been a success.

Chief Daniel Rush told City Council Monday that the trial is expected to come to an end Wednesday.

“It has gone swimmingly,” Rush said. “It has been received well by the officers. Since our last meeting I’ve been able to quell a couple of different things with the use of the body cam. Without it, it would have been left up in the air and would have been, ‘he said, she said.’ The body cameras take care of that, which is great.”

Four cameras were delivered by Motorola WatchGuard earlier this month to provide officers with the opportunity to learn how to activate the cameras and tag incidents within the device.

Mayor Scott Putnam said council probably will vote to send a request for proposal for body cameras in October.

“We’re being told by this company that we got the loaners through that it might be five or six months before they even come in,” Putnam said.

Rush said earlier this month that the price is “$15,000 upfront and $13,000 a year for the next four years after that.”

Also, council will vote Thursday to enter into a lease agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management for a 2022 Ford Explorer for the police department.

“We will have a new car by the end of the year that will give us four good ones, which should do us well into 2023,” Rush said.

Councilman Ken Westcott, chairman of the accounts and finance department, said work continues on the 2023 budget.

“Hopefully, by the end of this month everybody will turn in their requests and wants, and we can have something together for mayor and council,” he said.

Council also is expected to vote to increase fines for failure to file mercantile tax and business privilege tax, from $300 to $750.

“We’ve not done anything in the past to go after some of these businesses,” Putnam explained. “The $300 fine doesn’t really cover our cost to go after them. It’s just catching up with the times.”

Council also is expected to approve a payment of $15,749.52 from the fire capital improvement fund to Premier Safety for four sets of firefighter turnout gear.

Finally, fire Chief Chris Richer said the department’s new engine has been in service for about a week. Council approved the purchase of a new fire truck in January 2021, with the contract being awarded to Pierce Manufacturing for $633,195.

Community Development Block Grant funding was allocated for the purchase, including $134,000 in 2021 CDBG funds.