The Springfield City Council approved the purchase of six cameras to be used in the city police cars last week.

Police Chief Paul Wynn told the council the police department tried a couple different cameras for several months at a time to see what would best fit the needs of the department.

“We tried a couple different units,” he said.

The system the police department prefers records to a hard drive and then the footage can be burned to a disc. Wynn said because the unit does not burn to a CD directly, there are fewer components to worry about breaking in the camera.

Wynn told the council the department needs new cameras because the current cameras are frequently out of the cars for repairs.

“The upkeep on them last year alone was like $2,800,” he said. “When they do go out, it takes a month and a half to get them back, and you know what kind of incidences can happen in a month and a half.”

He said in order to reduce the cost, the units will be installed by the members of the police department. The cost to have the cameras installed would have been $300 apiece.

The purchase of the cameras was unanimously approved. They will cost approximately $26,040.

Members also approved to donate funds to the Veterans Park in support of a lunch for Alpha Battery, the Springfield-based National Guard unit that will be deploying to Afghanistan.

Mayor Barton Alderman told the council that there was also a request for council members to volunteer at the event.

“They would really appreciate help,” Alderman said.