YOUNGSTOWN — The city plans to seek proposals from companies interested in selling body cameras for its police department, but the process to buy them won’t be quick.

City council is expected at its 4:30 p.m. meeting today to authorize the board of control only to solicit proposals from vendors. The deadline to submit proposals will be 4 p.m. Aug. 30.

After that, city officials will score each of the proposals based on a series of items including price, quality, ease of use and storage capabilities, said city Finance Director Kyle Miasek. An actual purchase would require additional council approval.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward and a retired city police officer, said she was concerned that the specifications called for “at least 150 officer-worn body cameras” when there aren’t that many members of the force.

She also said ranking officers who don’t interact with the community have no reason to wear body cameras.

“Why would you buy cameras and not use them?” she said. “I want to see them in use.”

Miasek said the city was “not committing to 150.” Police Chief Carl Davis said 150 will be used for a cost comparison.

The chief also said the department has tested a number of body cameras and the clear preference is for cameras from Axon, a Scottsdale, Ariz., company.

The department has talked about body cameras for a few months, and this process will determine only with which company the city will negotiate on a potential purchase.

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said this process will move along the discussion.

A time frame for when body cameras would be purchased hasn’t been finalized. The administration would need to come back to council for approval to buy the cameras once the evaluation is complete.

The council finance committee at a Monday meeting recommended the full legislative body approve an ordinance today to have the board of control solicit proposals for the cameras.

OTHER ITEMS

The committee also recommended council permit the board of control to enter into a lease-to-buy agreement with Kempthorn Collision Center, which owns an auto-body repair businesses in Canton and Akron, for the former AT&T building owned by the city in the Salt Springs Industrial Park.

Under the proposal, Kempthorn would give the city a $25,000 nonrefundable deposit for the 30,000-square-foot building at 2933 Salt Springs Road and pay $33,000 annually for up to three years to lease the building.

The company could buy the building outright for $550,000 with the $25,000 deposit counting toward that amount.

Kempthorn plans to create 20 to 25 jobs with an annual salary range of $50,000 to $110,000 and would invest $450,000 in the building.

AT&T left the building about five years ago.

Council also plans to declare the building surplus for economic development at today’s meeting.

A proposal, however, to make the same declaration for a small parcel at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street will remain in the finance committee and not be considered today.

Youngstown State University wants the parcel, with a purchase price of $16,000, for parking for the Mahoning Valley Innovation Commercialization Center, which opened Monday.

Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, asked for a delay in the vote, saying that while he favors it, he’s not familiar with the deal. The property is in his ward.

Meanwhile, the finance committee recommended passage of legislation to change temporarily the city’s salary ordinance in order to give $24,298.48 in overtime to health district employees, who normally aren’t entitled to receive it.

The money is coming from a state grant with Commissioner Erin Bishop getting the most of the seven employees at $9,915.70 for 179 hours of overtime this year related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Council is changing its salary ordinance temporarily to allow the six of the seven employees — the other one is a union member and is entitled to the extra pay though the department doesn’t typically give it — to be eligible for overtime under the state grant.

dskolnick@vindy.com