Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb's administration has quietly renewed a contract for controversial gunshot technology without City Council鈥檚 approval.
Council typically approves spending over $50,000, but the sidestepped that requirement when renewing ShotSpotter, a program that uses cameras and sensors to locate and track gunfire in real time. The Board of Control is made up of members of Bibb's cabinet.
The $853,340 contract with vendor SoundThinking allows the company to maintain and license the tech for another year.
Jamil Hairston, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, pointed to that allows the safety director to renew contracts with previously-approved vendors. He said the contract renewal will allow more time for the city to field proposals from a variety of gunshot technology vendors.
"The renewal of the SoundThinking contract will allow the necessary time for this process and further discussion without disrupting current service," Hairston said in a written statement to 精东影业.
Hairston said council is not required to be part of the vendor selection or request for proposal process.
"Council staff were notified by the Board of Control agenda in advance, and the public will have the same access to information surrounding the forthcoming [request for proposal] process as they do with all other RFP processes executed by the City," the spokesperson wrote.
Other cities, such as , use ShotSpotter, but critics have blasted the tech for false positives and potential privacy violations. in 2024.
