We Get Letters: Pasadena Police Helicopter Gets New Camera

In April 2020, during the pandemic and without competitive bidding, our City Council voted to approve the $420,000 purchase of a helicopter camera surveillance system to replace a camera system that was still functional. Council member Hampton and then-Council member Gordo voted against the motion expressing concern at the substantial expenditure without competitive bidding. Fast forward to the December 14, 2020 meeting when our City Council was advised that there would be no Bad Weather Shelter in Pasadena this winter for our over 300 residents who sleep on the streets at night. At that meeting and the January 2021 meeting, the City Council approved a total of approximately $148,000 for motel room support for a fraction of our unsheltered residents this winter as well as bad weather supplies. A major impediment to sheltering more from rainy, cold nights this winter was that there are not enough outreach workers to be able to support the motel “voucher” system.

I have no reason to doubt that the new police camera system discussed in today’s edition of Pasadena Now has improved “image resolution” over the prior camera system. However, it is the timing of this extraordinary purchase that is disturbing as well as its purchase price. The prior system was still functional, and the $420,000 purchase price was approved during a pandemic and without competitive bidding. And now we cannot provide the basic necessities for our residents who suffer on the streets on cold and rainy nights. Could the substantial funds used to purchase the new camera system have, instead, been used to help our Housing Department and its partners to shelter our unsheltered residents this winter or help fund other city programs assisting our unhoused neighbors with basic necessities of life? We will never know. The money was gone in April. Concerned Pasadenans urge our council members to remember the purchase of the high-tech surveillance camera system when deliberating on future expenditures and when prioritizing the needs of all of our residents.

Sonja Berndt
Pasadena

Got something to say, email Managing Editor André Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.com