The Naperville City Council recently voted down an $8.29 million capital spending request focused on the citywide camera access system. Modernizing the existing system, replacing aging cameras, and adding new ones were among the items included in the package proposal.
Councilmembers on Tuesday, Sept. 1, ultimately voted, 6-2, against the spending plan, citing a range of concerns, including the overall cost and public concerns about privacy and surveillance. Mayor Scott Wehrli and Councilman Ian Holzhauer were the two yes votes. Councilman Patrick Kelly was absent.
Police chief outlines rationale behind proposal
Police Chief Jason Arres explained to the council the rationale behind the spending plan, which would have helped a cross-section of city departments modernize existing camera systems.
Current cameras date back to 2013, Arres said, and the proposal was aimed at “replacing aging equipment, consolidating disparate systems, and adding new coverage.”
“The objective is straightforward,” Arres said. “This system should help us protect people, facilities, and infrastructure. We’re committed to putting the governance in place to make sure that’s done responsibly.”
The city’s current camera system setup is three-pronged and autonomous, with one for security, another for monitoring traffic, and a third for building access control. The spending package included a consolidation of the three systems.
“These systems operate independently, require separate administration, and have different support and storage needs,” Arres said. “Much of the hardware is at or nearing the end of its useful life, and the existing systems have significant storage limitations, with little or no capacity for growth.”
Arres noted another improvement from the proposed work: “I should add it also upgrades servers for on-premise storage of the camera footage,” he said.
An outside firm, Ghafari Associates, was hired in 2024 to assist the city in providing an outside perspective on how the existing camera system can be improved. Later, the city underwent a request for proposals process, and Arres said a firm, SDI Presence LLC, emerged as a recommended vendor for the project.
The spending request included multiple hardware components, such as the addition of approximately 270 cameras, on top of the 442 cameras that currently are in place within multiple departments. The plan also included replacing approximately 200 older cameras, and adding about 90 new access control points.
Arres in his presentation said cameras serve multiple functions across different city departments. While they help police in investigations, they also assist other departments — such as the utilities — in ensuring critical infrastructure remains safe and reliable.
Council weighs in on spending plans
Several councilmembers expressed concern with the cost of the proposal. In lieu of more cameras, Councilman Josh McBroom at the recent council meeting questioned whether the funds instead could go toward hiring additional officers.
“We’ve all had a lot of questions, and the topic of cameras has been out there,” McBroom said. “I think there has been a fair amount of misinformation out there, and a fair amount of rational concerns, too.”
McBroom also referred to the request for additional cameras as “a shocking number.”
Arres did provide several specific examples of how the added number of cameras would be applied across the city. Naper Settlement, for instance, could benefit, Arres said, in light of the growing number of events held at the venue.
In light of the public sentiment around security cameras in recent times, Councilwoman Mary Gibson said she believed additional information and specific policies about data collection and storage would be beneficial.
“I think this warrants a larger conversation, and some policies, on the front end,” Gibson said.
Several suggestions were shared during deliberations. Councilwoman Supna Jain, for instance, inquired about the prospect of hiring a third-party firm that could be brought in to conduct independent audits of the camera surveillance protocols.
“While I agree that the reputation of our city is held high, I’m also thinking of those worst case scenarios where there could be abuses,” Jain said.
Arres, for his part, said any officer found violating department protocol would be subject to discipline, termination, and potential referrals to the state’s attorney’s office. He also said camera access within the police department would be limited to command staff.
Residents also give their thoughts on the request
The council received feedback from a number of residents on the spending proposal.
Speaking at the recent council meeting, resident John Doyle questioned the prioritization of the cameras, in light of other needs and wants within the community.
“Is it really needed?” Doyle said. “Our safety scores are already world class, and for violent property crime, in particular, ratings are significantly higher than national benchmarks.”
Karen V. Peck was among the residents who provided written comments on the spending proposal and urged the council to hit the pause button before any spending is appropriated.
“Residents need to understand why this is the best use of our money,” Peck wrote. “We also need assurance of our rights, as surveillance in the United States is currently being used capriciously and for unwarranted punitive measures.”
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