Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration went around Cleveland City Council to keep the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter for another year.
The city argues it did not need council’s approval to renew the service. The Board of Control, which is made up of members of the mayor’s cabinet, OKed a one-year, $853,340 deal with vendor Sound Thinking on Wednesday. The agreement gives the city ShotSpotter licenses and maintenance services for another year, according to the board resolution.
Cleveland uses ShotSpotter microphones to detect sharp noises in 13 square miles of the city. Artificial intelligence and human analysts from SoundThinking review audio and notify police about likely gunshots.
Council Safety Committee Chair Michael Polensek said council ought to have been given the chance to review and discuss the deal.
“We’ve got to watch this bunch like the hawk,” he said, referring to the Bibb administration. “Because let me tell you something: Whenever they can get around council oversight, they’ll do it. That’s become very clear to me. You would think they would have the courtesy to sit down and talk with us.”
Typically, the mayor needs council approval for contracts bigger than $50,000. But City Hall is citing a portion of city code dealing with software licenses to explain why this deal didn’t need council sign-off.
If a director already has council or Board of Control approval to buy software from a vendor, he or she can enter additional contracts for such services as maintenance and technical support, the code says.
That “authorizes the Director of Public Safety to renew software agreements with Board of Control resolution,” city safety spokesperson Jamil Hairston wrote to Signal Cleveland in an email.
City Council has approved and renewed a contract for ShotSpotter over the years. The latest version of the agreement was set to expire this month, officials have previously said.
Understand the history: See how ShotSpotter has evolved in Cleveland and what led to this moment.
Council asks if ShotSpotter is a ‘good use of city dollars’
Earlier this year, the Bibb administration paused its effort to replace ShotSpotter with technology offered by a competitor, Flock. The city left open-ended whether it plans to ask gunshot detection companies to bid on a new contract with the city.
“Ensuring public safety is a top priority for the City of Cleveland,” Hairston wrote. “We will consider all options that align with this goal.”
A city-funded Cleveland State University study found ShotSpotter alerts largely to be accurate. But most alerts did not lead police to discover evidence, victims or witnesses. The technology also strained the understaffed police force by generating a higher volume of top-priority dispatches.
Polensek is open to renewing ShotSpotter but also has reservations about the technology, he said.
“If we’re diverting first responders to that, and then they get on the scene and there’s nothing there, is that the good use of city dollars?” he said. “I don’t know.”
