PERRY TOWNSHIP – The board of trustees approved the purchase of new bodycams for the police department pending receipt of a grant in its meeting Monday.

Trustees voted unanimously to approve the purchase of seven new Motorola body cameras at a cost of $32,180, with $21,560 to be paid through a Justice Assistance Grant the department has applied for, leaving $10,620 to be paid by the township. Trustee Chair Steve Bailey said that the township could either pay the remaining balance in full or break it up over the course of 12 months. However, if the department is not awarded the grant the purchase will not be made at this time.

If approved for the grant, the purchase of the cameras will include a five-year warranty, replacement with new cameras after three years, and cloud backup services. Bailey said that the township had last purchased body cameras five years ago with a grant from the Salem Community Foundation, and that they were worn out and needed replaced. Bailey also said that the current cameras must be backed up to the department’s servers directly, which has caused issues with footage taking up almost the entirety of the department’s server storage which would be alleviated by the switch to cloud backup.

During his report Bailey said that the department was also still in search of a fifth full-time officer to bring it back to its full operational force.

Trustees also voted unanimously to raise road department workers Jake Aegerter and CJ Dawson’s pay to $26.50 per hour and $24.50 per hour, respectively, retroactive to March 30. Bailey explained that the township hadn’t done their annual raises at the beginning of the year.

Other financial matters approved included repairs to the township’s backhoe by Southeastern Equipment for $12,862.22; repairs to fire engine 72 by O.S. Hill for $1,218.

The board of trustees will meet next at 4 p.m. April 28.