After a second round of review, plans for a series of security camera improvements at various locations throughout Naperville are poised to move forward amid surveillance-related concerns by some residents within the community.
The Naperville City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 4, voted unanimously in favor of executing a 3-year agreement with the firm SDI Presence LLC for a new security network, comprehensive replacement of existing cameras, and installation of new ones.
The council-directed agreement is set at $8.5 million, with an additional 3% contingency attached as well. The approved amount is different from the two figures — $8.689 million and $8.189 million — that city staffers presented to the council for consideration.
Council rejected proposal in September
On Sept. 1, the council voted down an $8.29 million capital spending request from Police Chief Jason Arres to modernize the city’s existing aging security camera system.
The council voted down the proposal on a 6-2 vote, at the time citing a range of concerns, including the overall cost and public concerns about privacy and surveillance.
An updated memo from five city staffers outlined why the proposal returned at the recent council meeting for further consideration. A provision in city council rules states a rejected agenda item cannot be reviewed and reconsidered again for 62 days.
In addition to Arres, the following city employees contributed to the memo: Jen Louden, director of TED (transportation, engineering and development); Kelley Neal, solutions project manager in the city’s IT department; Jackie Nguyen, information technology director; and Dan Randolph, public works director.
“During this mandatory waiting period, staff met with all members of the city council, itemized replacement versus new cameras, detailed the proposed locations, clarified the proposal is for 95 fewer new cameras than the consultant recommendation, and drafted the requested governance policy.”
New and replacement cameras are planned at several locations within the city, including the police department, municipal center and parking deck, water utility infrastructure, public works department, electric service center, electric substations, the downtown corridor and parking decks, fire stations, Naper Settlement, Metra station, traffic cameras, and the pedestrian tunnel at 75th Street and Washington Avenue.
The plan includes replacing end-of-life security cameras and installing new ones in two specific buckets: Category 1 (critical public and infrastructure safety) and Category 2 (public and staff safety).
Category 1 focuses on dedicated city infrastructure and high-traffic public areas. Category 2 is focused on the day-to-day security of visitors and municipal employees.
The staffers’ memo, building off the governance policy, outlines protocols for the cameras’ privacy and system use.
“To balance physical security needs with individual privacy, city staff has drafted a policy to govern how the system is used,” they wrote. “The policy establishes strict rules for system access, data management, and approval of requests for video footage and searches, including how the system’s analytical functions are to be used.”
Proposal modified in advance of council meeting
As outlined in an agenda-specific Q&A document between the council and city staff, Councilman Patrick Kelly requested a recategorization of 73 specific cameras, which modified the amount to the $8.5 million figure that was apart of the council’s approved motion.
In addition to approving the cost and scope of the citywide camera system work, the council’s motion states City Manager Doug Krieger cannot execute the agreement until he has matched the terms outlined in the motion with the contractor.
No one on the dais spoke specifically to the citywide camera system before the vote was taken at the recent meeting.
Council receives an earful in written comments
In reference to the agenda item, the council received 17 statements of opposition. Additionally, nine written comments — most in opposition — and one statement during public forum were shared at the recent meeting.
In her written comments, Katie Pitello indicated she views the plan as an “invasive, high-cost proposal.”
“Subjecting residents to continuous, automated mass monitoring severely undermines privacy without offering proven safety benefits,” Pitello wrote.
Dan Muller, an electrical engineer from Elgin, said he also is concerned the cameras can be prone to abuse. He drives through Naperville regularly to go to and from work.
Speaking to the notion of having his information catalogued, Muller added, “It’s like I’m a criminal. I’m just trying to go to work, and it’s watching me like a prisoner/convict. These systems are not right.”
The council did receive one supportive comment on the use of security cameras at the recent meeting.
“Cameras can be an aid for the police to solve crimes,” Patrice Basso wrote. “With proper auditing, limits on who can access camera footage and appropriate consequences for illegal use of the footage, there is no reason not to support camera usage, including license plate readers.”
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