Police chief supports body cameras if the budget can accomodate them
Bardstown Police Chief Kim Kraeszig tells the city council her thoughts on adopting body cams for the police department’s officers.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, March 13, 2018 — Kim Kraeszig, chief of the Bardstown Police department, told the city council she’s in favor of issuing body cams to her officers — but she won’t move forward until she determines which technology is going to best fit into the department’s budget.
Some vendors will provide the first set of cameras at no costs, but the camera costs aren’t the largest issue — the cost of archiving the video files and being able to index them reliably is, Kraeszig explained.
She estimated the cost of storage alone will be approximately $20,000 a year. Another cost the department will have to fund is an employee — probably a full-time employee — to manage the files and requests for video.
The total cost for a full-time employee with benefits could top $75,000, she said.
The old cameras the department bought in 2015 are obsolete and no longer supported, so using them is not an option, she explained.
Implementing a camera program won’t be done without making sure it can be done affordably. “Once it comes here its going to stay,” she said.
BLUEGRASS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 5k WALK/RUN. Chief Kraeszig told the council that after discussing her safety concerns with the walk’s organizers, her safety concerns were addressed and she was happy to support the school’s event.
The walk/run will use a portion of Parkway Drive that will be closed. Businesses that will be open can be accessed from either end, but the road will be closed to through traffic during the walk/run.
WILSON PARKWAY PAVING RESOLUTION. The council approved a resolution regarding the use of state funds to repave Wilson Parkway for a cost of $97,159.
Mayor Dick Heaton said he and Judge Executive Dean Watts had met with state legislators seeking state discretionary funding to repave Nutter Drive and Wilson Parkway. The state made available funds for one of the requests, Wilson Parkway.
Heaton said the cost of repaving Wilson Parkway would have been a sizable portion of the city’s road repair budget. The state funds mean that repaving Wilson Parkway will keep the city’s original paving priorities intact.
In other business, the council:
— unanimously approved a resolution setting aside Monday, March 19, 2018, as a day to honor Women in Public Office.
— gave final approval of changes to the city’s classification and compensation plan.
— approved a change order totaling $11,750 for additional work to coat and seal cracks and voids in filter unit 2 and remove unneeded parts.
— went into closed session to discuss the possible acquisition of land for the city’s use. The council emerged from the 35 minute session and took no action.
NEXT UP. The council’s next meeting is Tuesday, March 27, 2018.
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