The 10-year-old televisions and recording equipment at Port Orchard’s City Council chambers will soon be replaced by more modern electronics.
The City Council has set aside about $68,000 for the project.
The new setup is “pretty standard for a city of that size,” said James Gallegos, a systems consultant for Dimensional Communications, the Mt. Vernon-based company installing the new system. “The city of Poulsbo recently got a fairly similar upgrade.”
Approximately $50,672 will
go toward audio-visual upgrades, including replacing the old boxy televisions with new, high-definition flat screens and a projector system, and replacing the microphones with higher-quality models.
“Not only will the council members be able to see what’s being presented, but the audience will as well,” Gallegos said.
Another $17,142 has been budgeted to replace the standard-definition cameras used to record the council meetings with high-definition cameras.
The council also decided during its meeting Tuesday night to allocate $2,000 to install high-definition cables to the cameras, so that they can eventually put the council meetings online in high-def.
The council didn’t, however, opt to replace the capturing system recording the events, and the recorded versions of the meetings will be in standard definition, rather than high definition until the city makes that final upgrade.
Off-duty police officers’ pay rate to increase
Any groups hiring off-duty police officers for beer gardens and special events will now pay $55 per hour, rather than $40 per hour.
“While a significant jump from the previous rate, the current rate has been in place since 2007, and the cost of police personnel has increased significantly during that time.”
Officer overtime pay is approximately $52 per hour, not including benefits, so the increase doesn’t even cover the Port Orchard police department’s costs.
Vote on McCormick West annexation postponed
Council members postponed discussion and voting on approval of the annexation of 619.49 acres in the McCormick West area to the city.
Leaders for the McCormick Land Company requested that the City Council forego the discussion and decision Tuesday night, Mayor Lary Coppola said.
He didn’t offer further explanation about why the city decided to postpone the discussion and vote.
