Video gaming terminals could help fund body cameras for southwest IL police department

Highland’s video gaming terminals may help fund body cameras for the police department in the near future.

The Highland City Council has directed city staff to develop an ordinance that would allow a $250 fee per video gaming terminal. It’s a new law that went into effect in December, according to city manager Chris Conrad, and it allows non-home rule communities to impose the fee, which is split between the licensed establishment and the terminal operator.

There are approximately 15 establishments in Highland with a total of 85 video game terminals. The fees generated would add about $20,000 per year to the city budget, which Conrad said was almost exactly the cost of the body cameras that will be required for all Highland Police officers by 2025.

“We are doing it a little ahead of time,” Conrad said.

The city was due to upgrade the in-car video camera systems and was able to arrange cost savings by doing it ahead of time.

Conrad said that city leaders are eager to move forward with the body camera system. “Body cameras have been proven to be worth their weight in gold,” he said. For one thing, it helps control the city’s liability, and that there are much fewer violent interactions between officers and residents when there are cameras involved.

“Everyone seems to act better when they know they’re on camera,” Conrad said - not only the police officers, but the people they interact with as well. “A lot of citizens, when they know they’re being recorded, tend to behave much better.”

Conrad said that he does not have any concerns about officer behavior in Highland, but that cameras are now a public expectation. “If something does happen, people expect there to be body camera video,” he said.

Some communities have chosen to fund the body cameras with liquor license fees, but Conrad said there was concern about forcing the bar and business owners to front all the cost of the fee. With the per-terminal fee, he said, half the cost would be borne by the video company. However, he said, the bar owners’s association spoke at the meeting and were “obviously opposed” to having another fee added to their budgets.

The council will consider the ordinance in a future meeting, and if approved, it would become effective in June when the licenses are renewed.

This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 9:00 AM.