City Council approves applying for grant for police body cameras

Grant would provide up to $180,000

The Jefferson City council passed a resolution allowing the city to apply for a grant from the Federal Bureau of Justice to support the Jefferson City Police Department plan to implement a body camera program for officers. If awarded, the grant would provide up to $180,000.

Capt. Eric Wilde told the council at its meeting Monday night the department is looking to get 90 cameras so every officer in the department would have one.

The program is budgeted to cost $661,643, which includes 39 in-car cameras and all other related equipment.

If they are successful in getting the $180,000 federal grant, the remaining $481,643 would be paid out of the quarter-cent public safety tax.

Wilde said they have talked with community groups about concerns and ideas about the implementation of the cameras. He added they plan to have more such meetings as they bring the cameras into service.

Wilde also said they had to have their application in by this week, but he was unsure how soon they would know whether or not they had been awarded the grant.

In other business from Monday’s council meeting, two measures to increase pay for Jefferson City police officers and city staff could be approved at the council’s first meeting next month. Both measures are seen as ways to help attract more candidates for job openings.

One bill that was introduced would increase pay for police officers as part of a labor agreement between the city and the Fraternal Order

of Police, Missouri, Lodge No. 19 (FOP).

After voters approved a Public Safety Sales Tax in November, the council directed city staff to negotiate with the FOP. The agreement would go into affect July 10 and would be in place for three years.

A starting police officer salary would go from $41,975 to $46,000. This does not include benefits.

Also Monday night, a bill was introduced to authorize a 5 percent salary increase for all city employees, with the exception of police FOP members and the city administrator.

The proposed salary adjustment would implement an increase for full-time employees and part-time employees with benefits.

Crowell said it would cost $488,842 to implement the plan for the remainder of the city’s current fiscal year. On annual basis, it would cost the city $1,146,087, based on FY22 costs.

“We’ve got to give employees an excuse to stay and not a reason to leave,” Crowell told the council.