New London — The City Council on Monday voted 5-2 against spending $17,500 to allow Omni Data Solutions to further investigate costs of installing a surveillance camera system.



Councilors had first voiced their reservations about the project during a Finance Committee meeting last week when discussing a request to appropriate $300,000 and allow Omni Data Solutions to start work on what would be a 40-camera system in the downtown area. They declined to fund the request in part because of lingering questions about recurring costs such as maintenance and upgrades.



Councilor Michael Passero said Monday that he would like to see the request included in a capital improvement plan and engage the community in a larger discussion about the pros and cons.



"In the larger scheme of our policing needs, I don't think this is a top priority," Passero said.



Passero joined councilors Martin Olsen, Efrain Dominguez, Michael Tranchida and Anthony Nolan in voting against the expenditure. Erica Richardson and Wade Hyslop voted in favor.

