Council rejects 10‑year traffic preemption agreement for OptiComm system

The Tomball City Council on Aug. 25 rejected a proposed 10‑year agreement with Consolidated Traffic Controls to install and operate the OptiComm traffic preemption system. The item failed on a 3–2 vote.

City staff and Fire Chief Joe had presented the system as a technology that communicates with traffic signals to give a green path to responding emergency vehicles and to stop cross traffic. Chief Joe said the vendor projects a 20–25% reduction in response time citywide, and staff estimated the local effect would be about a one‑minute average reduction on some calls. The vendor’s updated quote presented to council listed an annual cost of $76,952.64 over 10 years, and staff said funding was included in the FY2024–25 budget but would require transferring amounts among departmental lines.

Council discussion focused on the 10‑year payment commitment and whether the upfront and ongoing costs constituted a necessary operational expenditure. One council member said the contract represented a decade‑long commitment for what the member characterized as an item the city should budget for only in the immediate fiscal year rather than lock into for ten years. Supporters cited safety benefits and observed recurring situations in which apparatus wait at intersections or must contraflow traffic during responses.

The council voted 3 nays, 2 yeas; the item therefore failed. Staff said the city would not execute the OptiComm agreement as proposed.