Police Drone First Responder Program

At a glance

• What: File 94908 amends the 2026 Police Department operating budget and authorizes the Mayor and Chief of Police to apply for and accept a $200,000 USDOJ Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Community Policing Development Microgrant to pilot a "drone as first responder" program.
• Where it stands: Adopted unanimously on October 20, 2026 on the Finance Committee's report. The grant is an application; award is not yet reported.
• Next: USDOJ award decision; no date is in the minutes.

Details

• Stated purpose: evaluate whether drones are a useful first responder tool that meets community needs while also evaluating their utility for officers, supervisors and police administrators.
• Sponsors: Alder Lankella, Alder Guequierre, Alder Cole, Alder Verveer and Alder Field.
• The minutes record no debate, public speakers or member-by-member tally; the vote is recorded as "Adopt Unanimously".
• Introduced and referred without debate on October 6, 2026.
• Context: on September 22, 2026 the Council also accepted other police grants unanimously, including $500,000 (three years) from the USDOJ Office of Victims of Crime for a crime response specialist and $250,000 from the COPS Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act; on October 6 it adopted a $100,805 Byrne Justice Assistance Grant.

Sources

• Common Council meeting minutes, October 20, 2026 (approved): https://madison.legistar1.com/madison/meetings/2026/10/28490_M_COMMON_COUNCIL_26-10-20_Meeting_Minutes.pdf
• Common Council meeting minutes, October 6, 2026 (approved): https://madison.legistar1.com/madison/meetings/2026/10/28489_M_COMMON_COUNCIL_26-10-06_Meeting_Minutes.pdf
• Common Council proceedings, September 22, 2026 (approved): https://madison.legistar1.com/madison/meetings/2026/9/28488_M_COMMON_COUNCIL_26-09-22_Proceedings.pdf

Log

2026-10-20 - Common Council

Adopted unanimously on the Finance Committee report.

2026-10-06 - Common Council

Introduced and referred without debate.