The Buena Park City Council on Tuesday will consider the police department’s request to allow for purchase of network hardware and software for security and support, using $33,443 from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Coronavirus Emergency grant.
Editors’ Note: This dispatch is part of the Voice of OC Youth Media program, working with student journalists to cover public policy issues across Orange County. If you would like to submit your own student media project related to Orange County civics or if you have any response to this work, contact Digital Editor Sonya Quick at squick@voiceofoc.org.
The department’s current equipment is no longer sufficient for the city’s emergency operations center’s needs, according to a city staff report.
“The city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed observations from previous training and exercises that the existing network infrastructure is unable to adequately support EOC operations with adequate data throughout in a stable and secure manner,” the report said.
The document also states the new equipment will “improve the security and stability of the police department network infrastructure and ultimately standardize this structure throughout the city.”
The federal Office of Justice Programs approved the police department’s funding application in June, as well as its four proposed uses of said funds, the staff report said. One of those proposed uses was the “purchase of equipment necessary to provide adequate data security and capacity to the emergency operations center (EOC), and to support distributed EOC operations.”
The funds for the new equipment are to be reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program. The staff report states that Orange County cities have been given nearly $1.3 million through the program; $58,714 of the funds have been distributed to Buena Park.
The City Council meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Spectrum subscribers can watch the meeting live on Channel 3; others can tune in through the city’s website.