$377K agreement over 10 years to update police equipment

By Kyle Troutman

[email protected]

The city of Cassville has entered a 10-year contract with Axon to update Cassville Police Department camera and taser equipment.

The contract, at a total cost of $377,478.78 over the 10 years, denotes annual payments of $37,747, with the contract requiring new approval every 5 years.

The contract includes the following;

• 13 body worn cameras

• Seven in-car cameras

• 13 Taser 10s with cartridges

• Training package for Taser 10 that includes VR headset and tablet

• Training to certify five personnel as instructors

• All vehicle installations included

• New body cameras every 2.5-3 years

• New in-car cameras every 5 years

• New Taser 10s every 5 years

• 2026 prices locked in through duration of contract

Cassville Police Chief Donnie Privett said the contract will keep officers equipped with up-to-date body cameras, in-car cameras and Tasers for the next decade while locking in current pricing against future increases.

The contract replaces a five-year agreement that expired in early June and follows nearly a year of research into available options.

“I had been working about this time last year on getting pricing and quotes together for the renewal and seeing if we were going to stay with Axon or go a different way,” Privett said. “In the middle of that, we discovered that the pricing was significantly more than what we anticipated.”

As he reviewed the department’s previous agreement, Privett discovered the lower annual payments under the former contract had been made possible by a large upfront investment.

“In 2021, we paid $87,000 down on the equipment, and that was able to get our yearly contract price down to $12,000 and some change,” Privett said. “We utilized the American Rescue Plan Act COVID money. I was unaware that we did that. I just thought we got a $12,000-a-year contract.”

When the renewal proposal arrived, the higher annual cost initially caught Privett off guard.

“When I went to get the renewal from Axon and they hit me with the $37,000 a year, I was like, ‘No, no, no, no,’” Privett said.

After evaluating proposals from five vendors, Privett said remaining with Axon ultimately offered the best long-term value.

“We looked at the cost, and I had five different quotes from five different vendors,” Privett said. “One of them had a pretty decent price, and then they said they don’t offer vehicle installations. You have to find that yourself.”

Finding an installer presented another challenge.

“The people I talked to about installing it couldn’t even talk to me about it unless we had the product in our hand that they could look at,” Privett said.

The experiences of other agencies also factored into the department’s decision.

“When I was in Command College, there were 41 of us in that class, and the majority of them used Axon or were going to Axon,” Privett said. “The ones that couldn’t go to Axon, it boiled down to pricing.

“We locked in 2026 pricing for cameras, both hardware and software, for the next 10 years. We also locked in Tasers — 13 of those, to be exact — that replace our very aged Taser X26Ps that are basically obsolete unless you buy them from third parties.”

Beyond the equipment itself, the contract includes officer training and technology services.

“That also covers training, certification for instructors and cartridges for the length of the contract that we don’t have to pay for because it’s part of our contract price,” Privett said.

The agreement also maintains the department’s digital evidence system.

“It handles all the video,” Privett said. “We can integrate body cam, dash cam, do our redactions for FOIA requests and open records requests. It does it all.”

Changing vendors would have created additional expenses, he said.

“Staying with Axon, we weren’t having to go back and pay for our data or pay for a license so somebody could access our data if we were to go with a different vendor,” Privett said.

Privett said locking in pricing now also protects the city from anticipated increases.

“The contract locks us in at the pricing right now versus having to rebuy them in five years,” Privett said. “They anticipate a 7% increase in five years. That’s why we went with a 10-year contract.”

Even if the agreement is not renewed at the end of its term, the department will still have modern equipment.

“It puts us with cameras for the next 10 to 15 years,” Privett said. “If you don’t renew the contract at the end of the 10 years, you’ll have new equipment. You can make it another five years with a usage agreement.”

The department also plans to seek assistance through a grant program to offset costs.

“We’re hoping to use the contributions of the Blue Shield grant program to help offset some of this contract cost,” Privett said. “I’ve heard anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000, but I don’t have an exact figure.”

Most of the new equipment has already arrived, and installation is expected soon.

“I think I’ve got pretty much everything here in my office,” Privett said. “I’m just waiting on communication from Axon for when they’re going to come down to train our instructors and do the vehicle installs.”

Ultimately, Privett said the investment is about ensuring officers have the tools they need while protecting both law enforcement and the public.

“It was a huge purchase, and I understand that,” Privett said. “I don’t want to put an officer out here on the street without a body camera. It’s best all around for everybody if we’re able to have those.”contract