On the agenda: Senatobia August 14, 2026 — FLOCK camera (Aug 14)

CITY OF SENATOBIA

SPECIAL MEETING

AUGUST 14, 2026

BE IT REMEMBERED that the Mayor and Board of Aldermen met on August 14, 2026, at
8:00 A.M., this being the special meeting time. Mayor Graves called the meeting to order, and the
following Aldermen were present: Underwood, Dear, McConnell, Garrett, and Tanksley. Also
present, City Clerk Katie Harbin, Deputy City Clerk Francis Johnson, Administrative Director Erika
Holden, Police Chief Vanderford and Administrative Assistant Michelle Westmoreland.

CITY OF SENATOBIA
133 NORTH FRONT STREET
SENATOBIA, MS 38668
662.562.4474
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND BOARD OF
ALDERMEN
Date: August 10, 2026
From: Mayor Greg Graves
Subject: Special Meeting
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a Special Meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the
City of Senatobia shall be held on Friday August 14, 2026, at 8:00a.m. at the Community
Development/Tourism, Main Street Building, at 135 N Front Street, in the City of Senatobia,
Mississippi.
The purpose of the meeting is to:

City of Senatobia
Mayor and Board of Aldermen Agenda
August 14, 2026
Community Development/Tourism, Main Street Building
8am
Special Meeting
1. Call to Order, Prayer, Roll Call
2. Welcome
3. Approve Agenda
4. Discussion of the Axon Agreement
5. FYE 2027 Budget Workshop
______________________
Greg Graves, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
Katie Harbin, City Clerk
All Aldermen were notified on Monday August 10, 2026, at 9:30am, in person.

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CITY OF SENATOBIA

SPECIAL MEETING

AUGUST 14, 2026

Approve Agenda

City of Senatobia
Mayor and Board of Aldermen Agenda
August 14, 2026
Community Development/Tourism, Main Street Building
8am
Special Meeting
1. Call to Order, Prayer, Roll Call
2. Welcome
3. Approve Agenda
4. Discussion of the Axon Agreement
5. FYE 2027 Budget Workshop
Motion was made by Alderman Dear, and seconded by Alderman Garrett, to approve the
agenda. All voting yea, motion carried.
Discussion of the Axon Agreement
Mayor Graves advised the Board that Chief Vanderford has Evan with Axon on the phone to
speak to us about the agreement and answer any questions you have regarding the Axon
agreement.
Chief Vanderford advised that Evan with Axon sent us a revised agreement.
Evan Llanes with Axon introduced himself to the Mayor and Board. Evan went over information
in the new agreement. He stated that he was able to include a tax credit for the current hardware
in the agreement, crediting off the current and past payments due, along with a lot of other
discounts. Evan advised that this agreement includes a lot of updated technology and features for
body cameras and tasers. It has unlimited storage and live stream body camera footage. From the
field an Officer can hit a button that will send a message to the Chief and allow him to view
footage in real time, 24/7. It also has GPS.
Alderman McConnel asked if we needed to add on cameras later, what would the charge be.
Evan stated they would only charge the software for the remaining length of the contract.
Mayor Graves asked as far as use, is everything automatic, as far as using the camera. Will they
automatically turn on.
Evan stated this is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. As soon as it’s docked it is
automatically downloaded. We could add on for no cost, extra options for automatic turn on
features. When the tasers are activated it will automatically turn on all of the body cameras in the
surrounding area.
Mayor Graves stated so cameras come on automatically, if the Officer forgets to turn them on.
Evan stated if taser is pulled out of the holster it will turn on all cameras within a certain range.
Alderman Tanksley asked if the cameras will automatically turn on if the light bar is turned on.
Evan stated we can add that feature in for no additional cost.

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CITY OF SENATOBIA

SPECIAL MEETING

AUGUST 14, 2026

Alderman McConnell asked if we just use 22 of the cameras, will it cost the same as it does for
the 25.
Evan stated we would have to re-do the quote. I’ve got a lot of discounts worked in there, so I
would have to rework everything. It would probably be more cost effective to keep at 25 if you
plan to be at 25 in a couple of years.
Evan spoke about the tasers. Stated that the old ones are 2 shots at a time. The new ones, Taser
10, are a 10-shot device. They are easier to work, more efficient. They are designed to work
smarter for the Officer. Everything is tracked. There is also a VR training package included in
the agreement. Evan stated they have included a lot for no charge. We really want to get you in a
better system.
Alderman Dear stated it’s a safety thing.
Alderman Tanksley stated it sounds good. As long as we can get our people raises.
Alderman McConnell asked how much this is versus the current agreement.
Erika Holden stated they are waiving the bills that we currently owe.
Michelle Westmoreland stated we actually owed 2 invoices.
Mayor Graves stated that two Aldermen met back in May or June with Chief Vanderford and
Axon, to go over the products and services being offered in this agreement. Both Aldermen
advised they were good with it. No one has said any different or brought up any concerns.
Alderman Tanksley stated I want to give raises.
Alderman Dear stated you could have given raises last year.
Alderman Garrett asked could we use less cameras and just rotate them.
Alderman Underwood stated I think that would be a problem. If you have something big going
on, you won’t have enough cameras.
Alderman Tanksley asked about other companies, getting quotes.
Chief Vanderford stated he can look for other quotes.
FYE 2027 Budget Workshop
Police Chief Vanderford went over his proposed budget fye 2027 with the Mayor and Board.
Chief Vanderford is proposing an 8% raise for the department, that would be about $2.00. Chief
Vanderford stated that we will never be able to get where Desoto County is, but if we can at
lease compete, we wouldn’t have to scrape by. It could help us to get some better candidates to
apply here. Chief Vanderford advised that he tried to cut where he could, line items for things
like office supplies, fuel, uniforms, MV supplies, and a few others. We are keeping DARE the
same.
Francis Johnson stated that DARE, K9, and Technology all have their own bank account, so it is
a wash in the budget.
Michelle Westmoreland advised that the trackers will be moved to be covered under the
technology line item, where they should be. We should be lowering the expense for tracking
also. We are going through what we have and what we are paying for.
Alderman McConnell asked about the FLOCK cameras.
Michelle Westmoreland stated that is paid for by a grant.
Alderman McConnell stated that is fine, as long as we aren’t paying for them, I don’t like them.

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CITY OF SENATOBIA

SPECIAL MEETING

AUGUST 14, 2026

Chief Vanderford stated I understand that some people don’t like them. That is their right, their
opinion. However, those cameras have helped a lot in critical situations. We, and other agencies,
have been able to locate criminals, ones that have committed rape, kidnapping, murder, etc.
Some cases were only able to be solved because of the FLOCK cameras, showing us the location
of the vehicle being used by the criminal.
Mayor Graves asked the Board if they wanted to continue with the budget workshop next
Tuesday at 4pm, before our regularly scheduled meeting.
The Board all agreed.
Mayor Graves advised the Board that Mr. Riley informed me that the County has asked him if he
would be able to help them out with some work while their Building Inspector is out. Mr. Riley
would not be on the clock with the City, and he would not be using city equipment or resources.
I wanted to let you know to keep you informed.
Erika Holden stated that Mr. Riley mentioned it to her, and she advised him to ask the Mayor.
Erika stated she wasn’t sure if it was legal. She wouldn’t want anything to happen and come
back to Mr. Riley, against his certifications.
The Board was ok with this.
Alderman Underwood suggested possibly calling our attorney and having him speak with the
County’s attorney to verify everything would be ok with that situation.
Recess
Motion was made by Alderman Underwood, and seconded by Alderman Dear, to recess
to Tuesday August 18, 2026, at 4pm. All voting yea, motion carried.

________________________________
Greg Graves, Mayor
ATTEST:

___________________________________
Katie Harbin, City Clerk

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