Madison plans to equip its public-facing police officers with body-worn cameras by the end of 2027, two years earlier than the city’s original schedule, after the Madison Community Foundation offered a $350,000 grant. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced the grant Thursday at the foundation’s office. The city had planned a three-year rollout that would have equipped only officers in the North District by the end of 2027. Rhodes-Conway said the foundation approached the city in mid-August with an offer to help bridge the funding gap. “It is just simply not fair to have one police district have cameras and others not,” Rhodes-Conway said. The grant’s one-year term will pay for two information technology specialists, a forensic analyst and most of the program’s software expenses, which the mayor estimated at about $100,000 annually. The police department expects to cover another $30,000 to $40,000 in operating costs from its existing budget. The city also plans to seek a U.S. Department of Justice grant, which requires a 50% local match, to help pay for the 220 cameras. The grant does not finalize the program. The Common Council must approve a capital budget amendment for equipment funding, operating funds in the mayor’s executive budget and the grant agreement. Rhodes-Conway said she expects broad council support. Police Chief John Patterson said cameras will be shared among uniformed officers whose work brings them into direct contact with the public, including patrol, community policing, neighborhood and traffic officers. He said they could be in use by early summer, after equipment is distributed, staff are trained and the new positions are filled. A new Service Excellence and Outreach section is expected to review footage, including after use-of-force incidents, and assess how officers interact with the public. “You can’t just have the footage and not review it, not audit it,” Patterson said. Patterson said the department plans to simplify its policy after patrol officers criticized a 2024 pilot policy as difficult to follow. He said the department will also consider a 2023 model policy from the Police Executive Research Forum. Madison Community Foundation President and CEO Bob Sorge said the foundation had urged community participation in shaping the program’s policy and operations. The Office of the Independent Police Monitor was not discussed at the announcement. Monitor Aeiramique Glass said she welcomed the cameras but was concerned about what she described as an effort to bypass or disregard her office in developing oversight and policy for the program. The announcement follows renewed attention to policing and accountability after Corey Ruiz was shot and killed by Madison police on July 22. Sorge offered condolences to Ruiz’s family and friends, and said cameras alone would not resolve questions of trust or accountability. Patterson likewise described them as one tool for transparency, not a fix for every strained relationship. The grant requires the city to keep funding the program in its 2028 budget and beyond. Rhodes-Conway said the city’s ability to sustain it will depend in part on state limits on local spending and revenue. She warned those constraints could make it harder for Madison and other cities to maintain services.