Fitchburg, WI Community Equity Advisory Committee 10-26-26

The Fitchburg Community Equity Advisory Committee met on October 26, 2026, and considered Resolution R20126, an amendment to the 2026 police budget for real-time information center technology. Police representatives described a proposed technology package including data analytics, drone-as-first-responder capability, license-plate readers, camera integration, and updated squad and body cameras with live translation. Axon was the proposed vendor for much of the package; Paragon Technologies was identified for data analytics, and Motorola was discussed as an alternative. The department said the project would use donations from community partners through the Law Enforcement Foundation and a grant fund; no total cost was stated. A contract term of five to seven years and equipment replacement every two and a half years were discussed. The committee did not approve the budget amendment: it passed a motion to postpone its consideration so members could review the proposal and develop feedback before the expected November 10 council meeting.

Members and public commenters raised concerns about privacy, surveillance, equitable deployment, community input, and oversight. Police representatives described proposed limits on data access and searches, audit tracking, restricted sharing through agreements with other agencies, and plans to publish policies and standard operating procedures. A committee member proposed including an equity analysis in the project’s ongoing assessment. The committee also approved the September 23, 2026, minutes. No final vendor award or spending authorization was made at this meeting.