Naperville’s City Council voted down an $8.3 million plan to overhaul security cameras and door-access systems across municipal buildings this week, sending police back to the drawing board over unresolved questions about privacy, audits and why the city needs nearly 270 new cameras in the first place. The rejected proposal would have replaced about 200 existing city cameras, added 270 new ones, swapped out 404 access readers and installed 98 more, all while introducing an artificial-intelligence search tool built primarily for police investigations.
The vote, which took place on September 1, would have awarded a three-year contract to Chicago-based IT consulting firm SDI Presence LLC, according to the Naperville Sun. The contract, structured as procurement RFP 25-030, carried a price tag of $8,293,111 plus a 3% contingency and was meant to integrate Genetec software, replacement cameras, standalone fiber networking and badge-access control across city facilities, according to city meeting records. Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres told the council that many of the department’s existing cameras are reaching the end of their usable life, and he said the questions raised about the project were fair, per the Sun’s reporting.
The city currently runs 442 cameras across three main security systems that include security cameras, traffic cameras and building access control, the outlet reported. Those systems have been in place since 2013 and cover locations including water and electric utility facilities, the municipal center and Naper Settlement, where public access is already limited and a nighttime security guard patrols the building. Public vetting of the new proposal lasted only about five days before the vote, a timeline that fed council skepticism.
Council Members Wanted Answers Before Writing the Check
Councilman Josh McBroom, who opposed the project, said the city had not yet made its case for spending the money, according to the Sun. Councilwoman Mary Gibson raised specific concerns about the 60 additional cameras proposed for the municipal center alone. Not every member was opposed — Ian Holzhauer and Scott Wehrli both voted in favor of moving forward — but the majority sided with skeptics, and the council ultimately rejected the package rather than approving it outright…