By Ryan Berry
DailyAdvocate.com
GREENVILLE — The City of Greenville has received its body cameras and will soon install the equipment. Greenville City Council approved the plan to move forward with purchasing body and cruiser cameras and taser batteries at the end of the 2023.
Safety Service Director Ryan Delk shared the city did not receive a grant to help pay for the equipment, but because the council felt it was important to have the cameras the administration moved forward with purchasing the items. During the regular meeting of the city council on Tuesday, Feb. 6, the council approved paying the first installment of the cost. The city will pay $31,320 a year over the next five years. The cameras have a 10-years lifespan and a five-year warranty. If a camera fails in the first five years, they will receive a new camera and the warranty for that camera would be another five years.
Delk said the city will apply for another grant in May to help pay the cost of the equipment. “The PD worked hard to figure out where the deficiencies were in our first grant to make us look better when we reapply in May. If we don’t get that one, we’ll just keep reapplying every year. We have five years to come up with grant funding to cover our expense,” said Delk.
Law Director Michael Rieman added, “We’re very hopeful that we’re going to be able to get that grant, but as we’ve discussed before, given the current climate that’s out there, I think there is an expectation that police have body cameras. To be clear, we were protected before because our police had microphones that are tied in, and we’ve got cameras in the cruisers. This is just going to provide an additional level of protection with everything being tied together.” He reminded the council that when the original discussion was had he felt it was a project the city needed to do with or without a grant.
Greenville City Council also approved appropriations for 2024. According to Auditor Kim Davis, the city has appropriated $32,044,863 out of the general fund to fund the city this year. The council is expected to approve its Capital Improvement Project funding at the next meeting of the council.
Mayor Jeff Whitaker praised the city’s efforts to extend the Greenville Transit System (GTS) to the county. GTS began serving the county on Feb. 1. According to Whitaker, GTS has seen an increase in ridership. “I understand that since this started, in the first couple of days we had about 50 extra riders a day. I think the word is getting out and we are providing a great service to the county,” he said. In addition to grant funding, the city is receiving $50,000 a year over the next two years from the county to help offset the costs and keep the cost of ridership as low as possible.
Whitaker said the maximum cost for a rider is $15. The county is split into zones and if a rider is picked up in the northern or southern zone, the cost is $10. If a rider is picked up in the middle zone, the cost is $5. The cost is based on where a rider is picked up. For example, if a rider is picked up in Ansonia and taken to Greenville. The cost is $10. If the rider is picked up in Greenville and taken to Ansonia, the cost is $5.
Delk also gave an update on the State Route 502 water main project. The safety service director said the construction crews are currently connecting the lines to homes and businesses along the project’s path. “They probably still have a month of work to do – tie-ins, sidewalk repairs, asphalt repairs, that sort of thing, but the street is open,” he said. He also pointed out that as part of the project, the intersection of Chestnut Street, Vine Street and State Route 502 has been changed from a two-way stop to a four way stop. In a press release dated Feb. 2, the city wrote, “Brumbaugh Construction has asked that all traffic use extreme caution while they continue working in the area.”
To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].
