Batavia to double community surveillance measures despite privacy, cost concerns

There will be more eyes in the sky in Batavia next year as the city plans to nearly double its current surveillance measures, despite the cost and privacy concerns voiced by City Council members.

City Council members approved a contract with Aurora telecom company Scientel Solutions to add 55 surveillance cameras to the city’s downtown areas and at key city-owned facilities at their Dec. 16 meeting.

Of the 55 new cameras, 29 are planned for the downtown area, six for Public Works buildings, seven at each fire station, and six at electrical substations. The city already has 57 surveillance cameras in place, so the additions bring the total to 112.

Scientel Solutions will also provide the city with a mobile trailer and a new video management system for retaining and accessing the footage.

The city will pay $342,173.87 the equipment and services, and $24,240 annually for management and support services, which include 24/7 monitoring with dispatch services, repairs, annual cleaning and alignment of cameras and software updates. The annual fee will increase by 3% each year after the first year of the contract.

The contract was approved in a 10-1 vote at the Dec. 16 meeting. Alderman Mark Uher voted no, Alderman Tim Lanci abstained and Aldermen George Ajazi and Nicholas Cerone were absent.

Immediately after approving the contract, council members approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Park District to install cameras on their properties, including the Peg Bond Center, the Riverwalk and Houston Street. The IGA was approved in a separate vote with the same result.

Before the vote, Uher objected to the additional surveillance, calling it an “over-reach and a waste of money.”

While the discussion at the City Council meeting was short, a much longer discussion was held at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Dec. 10. There committee members recommended approval of the contract in an 8-1 vote. Uher was the sole no vote, Lanci abstained and Aldermen Nicholas Cerone, Sarah Vogelsinger, Leah Leman and George Ajazi were absent.

The discussion began with Scientel Systems security solutions manager Dan Bruno giving a presentation on the system.

Uher said he was not in support of the additional surveillance in the downtown area or at the fire stations and raised several security concerns.

“I’m not sure what we’re protecting, especially at the fire stations which are manned 24/7,” Uher said. “It seems like we just keep putting cameras wherever we can and it’s just raising our costs.”

Alderman Abby Beck said while she would be voting in support of the contract, she also had concerns about privacy in regard to surveilling the downtown area.

City Administrator Laura Newman said the point of the additional cameras is to protect millions of dollars worth of equipment they’ve invested in. She said they act both as a crime deterrent and an important resource for criminal apprehension.

Newman referenced the recent national news story of Luigi Mangione, the man recently charged with the murder of a healthcare CEO, and his inability to hide thanks to modern surveillance technology.

“I think we only need to reference the last three days of the news to see the potential for apprehension of folks who commit crimes. [Mangione’s] facial recognition, I think, made it impossible for him to hide,” Newman said. “I think that [increased surveillance] in-turn, provides a disincentive to others who think that they would be able to engage in the same behavior and get away with it.”

Alderman Alan Wolff said he agreed with Uher to some degree that the amount of cameras may be overkill in some places, and would be in favor of cutting back on the total number of cameras, especially around the fire stations.

The surveillance system will be accessible through the cloud via a phone application, from anywhere with an internet connection. One anticipated benefit of the system is that footage will be accessible to several parties, including the public works department, should issues arise at one of their substations.

All footage records will be retained for 30 days and will be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests from the public. The surveillance system, processes and policy will be subject to an annual audit by the city.

Alderman Tim Lanci abstained from the votes at both meetings due to a conflict of interest with his career in the same industry, working for security technology manufacturer Physical Layer Technologies, but weighed on the discussion to state his support for Scientel Solutions’ proposal.

Police Chief Shawn Mazza was also in support of the additional cameras. He said the mobile unit will be especially helpful on event days like the 4th of July, when many residents gather in locations not regularly monitored.