MISSOULA — On Monday night, the Missoula City Council voted to hold off on voting on whether or not to purchase Verkada security cameras, sending it back to committee.
(WATCH: Missoula City Council sends Verkada security camera purchase back to committee)
“I think it's important to have the accountability piece in place first and foremost, to have a system in place where once we get to the point of actually putting the hardware and software in place that says in the reach and feel confident that we have oversight, we have transparency, and all those pieces are in place,” Council member Bob Campbell said.
The contention over the purchase agreement centered around the camera’s AI capabilities, including facial recognition and license plate reading.
Council member Bob Campbell made the motion to send the purchase agreement back to committee after staff members, like Parks and Recreation Director Marina Yoshioka, addressed the council on the details of what the cameras would be used for.
“So what is being installed and where? This upgrade that's in front of you today is for replacing existing cameras at the four named facilities I mentioned earlier, Fort Missoula Regional Park, Currents Aquatic Center, Splash Montana, and the MOBASH skate park. We're also suggesting adding parking lot cameras at these specific facilities. And while these new cameras may have AI features, it is not our intent to use them, and we plan to not use them,” Marina Yoshioka, director of Parks and Recreation, said.
Other staff members, like Jesse Neidigh, the city’s IT director, spoke on why the Verkada cameras were chosen, saying that it would be simpler in the long run when compared to trying to find cameras without the capabilities.
“There's a lot of effort to use AI as a sales point. But that's not what drove us to Ricotta as a provider. We went there because we like their software. We like their integrated systems. We know that they are reliable. We know that they work with our partners and we know that we can get what we want out of this tool. Those are the things that brought us to this provider,” Neidigh said.
Members of the community came out largely to voice their concerns about the cameras, with some thanking the council for holding off on the vote.
There will be additional public comment periods for this item, with the first being in a committee meeting, which is yet to be scheduled. Then it will be followed by a public hearing in front of the whole City Council.
