From the County that brought you the $900,000-over-budget sewer pipe in Glen Echo Heights, comes their next attempt to emulate the Pentagon's infamous $640 toilet seat. Yesterday, the County Council approved a barrage of budget line-items for County services and non-profits alike for FY-2018. Some were well-justified, and others a complete waste. Among the wasteful items was $22,000 for the purchase of a 4-camera security camera system for the County's new Supervised Visitation Center.
$22,000 for 4 security cameras in the year 2017? That price would certainly have gotten my attention if I were on the Council. If you consider that any County building would already have WiFi, you're talking about the four cameras, and video storage. According to Popular Mechanics, security cameras range in price from $100 to $950. Fixr.com, a website that estimates project costs, states that Network-Attached-Storage devices range from $168 for 1 TB of storage, to $499 for 4 TB. Installation labor costs are estimated by Fixr.com to be $680 for four cameras. In other words, this whole system could be purchased and installed for under $1000, but the Council is picking your pocket for $22,000.
Interestingly, the $22,000 camera figure was not broken out in the Council staff report, but lumped with other costs in a $34,500 line item. The camera cost was mentioned by a staff member testifying before the Council yesterday. Not a single councilmember questioned the cost, and the item passed unanimously.
52 comments:
It's not entirely out of range. I had a 14-camera system (with 2 weeks of saved storage local.. not in cloud) installed for $12k last year.
If they need to keep the recordings for much longer, that would definitely up the price, as is if they need to record and store audio, or do cloud storage also. I'm assuming that charge came with installation/configuration service too in the price.
Professional systems are just more expensive then building your own from bits and pieces, because they need to be more reliable. For example, note the cost difference of a GPS you can buy at Best Buy and stick on our dashboard, versus the integrated GPS option on a new car.
Hi Robert, just curious if the crime report section will be coming back? It was one of my biggest draws to your blog.
"From the County that brought you the $900,000-over-budget sewer pipe in Glen Echo Heights"
That overage is meaningless unless you provide the budget for that project, which you never did. Also, did you ever contact anyone involved with the project, to determine the reason for the overage? That's what a good journalist would do.
What's the status of the alleged rape case at Rockville HS?
Thank goodness and forethought you'll never get elected to anything. Li Young has a better chance at governing that you.
9:08 AM lol..keep telling yourself that. If Dyer is so irrelevant, why does he occupy so much space in your mind?
He's reporting the news here, let him do his job.
9:28 AM Sounds more like the unpaid interns! Let them out of their cage and, for heaven sakes, pay them! You have the money.
There is no journalism badge. Dyer is a journalist.
Ha...seems like the same story the past 5+ years. Folks say "Dyer is irrelevant" and then turn and refresh Robert's news sites.
Other folks in local media who continue to feed the egos of our Council and Planning Board need to remember:
"It actually doesn't take a lot of courage to aid those who are already powerful"
If the anonymous man has such an issue with Robert, why not send him a note privately?
Anonymous comments on news articles aren't going to solve anything and aren't the place for that type of conversation.
He won't do it because he loves to banter with Robert here daily. I'm guessing anonymous is a lonely man. All evidence points to that.
"That's what a good journalist would do."
I would recommend the following strategy when browsing this blog: avoid articles with the words "county council," "Hans Riemer," or "Westbard" in the titles. There's a 99% chance that they're angry rants filled with ad hominem attacks, cherry-picked anecdotes, and clearly fake "facts."
10:20 AM's message is brought to you by our Planning Board/Department.
I bet they'd love to stop Dyer's reporting on Westbard. Thank God we still have a free press.
It pays for warranties, software, and upgrades. Not too crazy actually.
What do "non-profits" or the planning commission have to do with this security system?
8:11: Your system had 14 cameras; theirs will have only 4, and yours was still cheaper! As I mentioned, installation would be well under $1000 by itself, according to the Fixr website installation cost estimate. We've been ripped off by the Council again.
10:40: Actually, totally crazy, when I can purchase and install the same system for under $1000. $21000 for warranty and software updates? Not if I was on the Council! This again shows the problem with a low-tech, low-energy Council trying to govern in a high-tech world.
12:39 PM Is that the draft for this week's entry in the taxpayer funded newsletter that Ken sends out? Bravo indeed.
Did you have a chance to look at the details? I have clients that do that sort of thing and their contracts include hardware, installation, and a term of maintenance. Their installations can involve re-wiring to have generator backup. They invoice out some hefty bills.
Not saying that's the case. Like 8:11, I'm curious.
Funny how "Tim" sounds exactly like Dyer.
2:04 PM Dyer signs his comments, unlike you.
Now, I bet you'll say that every comment (other than yours) is written by Dyer.
@ 2:04 - Dyer doesn't understand the difference between equipment that is used in residential uses versus commercial uses. A washing machine that is designed for apartment buildings or laundromats will be several times as expensive as one designed for a home, despite looking superficially similar.
Tim @ 2:11 - I'm the comment which you responded to 7 minutes later. How many other comments did you assume were from me?
2:15 PM Until you step out of the shadows, you're the lone troll striking again.
Why not just use your real name?
It's ludicrous to hide behind "anonymous" and then claim the one person that signs his full name (Robert Dyer) is posting every other comment under other names.
"Until you step out of the shadows, you're the lone troll striking again."
Who else here thinks this is anyone but Dyer typing this?
Dyer, can you provide a link to the memo you're referring to? Much appreciated.
I don't think we ever have to worry about you being on Council. You showed us you weren't a serious candidate last time. Sad!
Dyer can indeed rant, but he's accurately reporting what's happening with Westbard. Kudos to Dyer for getting the facts out. Big public service.
6:46 PM Yep, Westbard is a big story and Robert Dyer has been all over it giving us the tick tock every day. Great local journalism!
I do not want Dyer to give me or anyone else "the tick tock", you pervert.
"Tim" @2:21. - did you really post this? "Why not just use your real name?"
I'll ask you the same thing. Why not just use your real name?
I heard that Dan Reed! trashed Dyer's sacred lifelong hometown. Eagerly awaiting Robert Dyer's exposé of this atrocity!
6:07: We already knew that Dan Reed had a sneering attitude toward Bethesda, and in particular, its residents. That's why he so frequently shares articles from Bethesda Magazine (and previously, from the out-of-business Bethesda Now) which make Bethesda residents, er, sorry, "NIMBYs," sound bad.
The bigger atrocity, is that Reed's candidacy for the Board is being promoted by the PR firm for Regency Centers, whose projects Reed would be voting on once appointed.
Bad!
So how come it was Bethesda Magazine that reported on Reed!'s trashing of Bethesda?
6:37: They're doing damage control on the story, as is Greater Greater Washington, ahead of Reed's interview today.
He sounds like he's a perfect fit for the planning board.
Robert, is there any way we can get a dark horse candidate like yourself into a position to make a changes on the planning board?
6:58: Well, certainly a good fit if you mean in the context of the motley crew of crooks they have on there now. Dreyfuss is the only guy who even has any real world experience in the field. The new guy literally says, whenever he gets the floor, "can we give them more height and density?" Everybody else is a politician getting in position for their future Council run, and lining up the chits from developers for the future contributions by approving their projects. Nice.
7:10: If I run in 2018, electing me to the Council would certainly give me a direct role. Trust me, I would be asking a totally set of different questions than what you're hearing the Council ask the PB candidates this morning.
Robert Dyer is not a "dark horse".
He is an old nag destined for the glue factory.
We have great signs.
Dan Reed has no business on the Planning Board. We need diversity, not a rubber stamp for height and density.
First time I've seen the word "diversity" used in an effort to deny a black man a job.
Thanks to Robert Dyer for his coverage of local zoning and planning issues, including Westbard. Without Dyer, only one view would be represented: that of the County and the development community. Diverse views need to be published.
@2:19 (1st comment): I am referring to diversity of views on development patterns, which is badly needed on the Planning Board. At present, developers are well-represented, but residents are not.
More anonymous attaboys.
Why is Dyer reporting on candidates for the Rockville Planning Board but not the County Planning Board?
Odd!
2:51: Because that's actual news, unlike the Kabuki theater of the crooked County Council trying to get their operative Dan Reed onto the Planning Board, with open support from certain developers.
Better question: "Why is" Ken Hartman using taxpayer-funded emails to promote Bethesda Magazine? Is it just an unethical, illegal promotion in exchange for positive coverage of County government? Or is Hartman getting something under the table for the promotion?
Odd!
Dan Reed isn't completely wrong though about Bethesda residents.
6:29: How so?
Didn't Poppy write a similar tongue in cheek take on Bethesda and everyone loved it? Whatever happened to dear old Poppy?
That would be totally awesome if Poppy was actually Dan Reed.
It would be funny if Robert Dyer was actually a completely fictitious entity created by Dan Reed.
Omg it all makes sense now. Robert Dyer is a fictional troll created to sound so crazy compared to his opposing candidates that you can't vote for him and vote in the other guy!!
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