Meridian City Councilmen and city administration are moving forward with a plan to purchase new cameras for police officers to wear when they go on patrol.

In a work session Tuesday, Meridian Police Department’s Lt. Patrick Gale said the department currently has some body-worn and in-vehicle cameras, but there are challenges that make them difficult to use. The software that is used to access footage from the cameras is not the best, he said, and officers struggle to reach a customer representative or technical support when issues arise.

“We aren’t able to retrieve some data that we need,” he said.

The need to upgrade the police department’s cameras has been discussed numerous times amongst city officials as well as recommended in multiple grand jury reports. Over the last several months, MPD has been trying out several different makes and models of cameras to see what will work best for Meridian officers.

Gale said MPD plans to purchase 80 body cameras and nine vehicle dash cameras. The body cameras cost roughly $1,100 each, and the dash cameras are around $2,300 each, he said.

The cost of the cameras, new software and an initial setup fee will be about $129,000, Gale said. The cameras would cost about $106,000 each year after that. The system comes with a five-year warranty, he said.

Council members on Tuesday also cleared up some confusion on how camera footage is handled once it’s turned in. In a June 5 council meeting, Councilman George Thomas asked Police Chief Deborah Naylor Young if it was true the department was only downloading footage related to felony cases. Young confirmed that was the case.

Mississippi law requires departments to keep all footage for at least 30 days. After that, data not considered to be evidentiary can be deleted. On Tuesday, Young clarified her earlier statement adding that she had been referring to after the initial 30-day period, when video footage related to cases is moved to more permanent storage and unnecessary files are deleted.

Gale said all footage is downloaded from body and in-vehicle cameras initially and is sorted out later.

“We download everything for a certain number of days,” he said.

Now that MPD knows what cameras it wants to buy, the next step in the process will be to issue a request for proposals. Gale said he will be meeting with the city’s finance and purchasing staff to get the ball rolling on the RFP.

It was not immediately clear where the funding for the cameras would come from. MPD has roughly $700,000 in its drug seized funds, but a portion of that money is already allocated.

Ed Skipper, who serves as an assistant to the mayor, said he would work with Chief Financial Officer Brandye Latimer to find the money.

MPD needs new body cameras, Thomas said, and it’s the council’s job to handle the money. If MPD can come up with an RFP that can be put out to bid, he said, the council will come up with a way to pay for it.

Also on Tuesday, the City Council heard from residents of The Meadows subdivision about recent flooding in the neighborhood. John Temple, who has lived in The Meadows since 2006 and spoke on residents’ behalf, said the area was not prone to flooding in the past.

“Something has changed,” he said.

Temple said he believed one contributing factor to the problem was the nearby Van Zyverden facility, which covers approximately 21 acres. Water can’t penetrate the facility’s buildings and parking lots, so it has to go somewhere else. For residents of The Meadows, he said, that somewhere else is inside their homes.

The City Council agreed to ask public works to investigate the problem further to see if there is a solution that can be put in place.

In other business, the City Council:

•heard from Dr. Jason Defatta about Project Inspire, a program for at-risk youth, which is set to begin in spring 2024;

•discussed the status of the old Meridian Police Station; and,

•heard from Tray Hairston of Butler Snow LLP about Urban Renewal bonds.