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Seagoville staff hears SC Tracking presentation on backflow and grease-trap compliance; staff backs $25 registration fee
Summary
Seagoville Public Works Superintendent Casa Groves introduced Tony Santoro of SC Tracking Solutions, who demonstrated a TCEQ‑validated software system to manage backflow, cross‑connection and grease‑trap compliance and said the platform would cost the city nothing while charging testers/customers small per‑transaction fees.
Seagoville Public Works Superintendent Casa Groves introduced a presentation by Tony Santoro of SC Tracking Solutions during the May 2025 work session on a data-management system the company says will handle backflow, cross-connection and grease-trap compliance across multiple city departments.
Santoro said the platform is designed for Texas regulatory requirements and is validated for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). "We take you from a paper program to an electronic program at absolutely 0 cost," Santoro told the council, adding the company would charge testers or customers a per-transaction fee and rebate the city the remainder on a quarterly basis.
According to the presentation, the system integrates customer service inspection records (the plumbing-code inspection that determines backflow needs) with ongoing backflow-test logistics, tester credentialing, and related enforcement workflows. Santoro described the technical validation in his presentation: "There are over 87 validation points per test report, 26 points of different data for every serial number," and he said the system enforces those checks before accepting a passing report.
The company said its standard charges are $9.95 for residential tests and $11.95 for commercial (Santoro noted some materials referenced $8.95 but said the charge is $9.95 and $11.95). Santoro described an option to capture a city registration fee that the company would collect and rebate to the city quarterly, minus the firm's standard fee and transaction costs.
Staff members told the council they had met with the presenter and recommended that the city set an initial registration fee of $25. One staff speaker put the recommendation on the table: "The recommendation from the staff was to go with the $25 fee." City officials asked about how calls and enforcement would be handled; Santoro said SC Tracking can field routine customer-service calls and escalate enforcement issues to the city while all mailed notices would carry the city's logo and signature.
City discussion included questions about estimated revenue. Santoro said rebate checks to cities have ranged during program growth from a few thousand dollars per quarter and that projected revenue depends on the number of active backflow devices the city identifies. He advised there would be a transition period, and that fee levels could be adjusted after implementation: "We can always up it later as well," he said.
Council members raised concerns about shifting revenue or workload burdens. One councilmember voiced a practical concern about administrative impact: "I just don't want it to be a revenue issue for what I have to do. That's that's where I'm coming from." Santoro and staff said the city would retain enforcement authority and that SC Tracking's role would be to validate reports, manage logistics and provide a live dashboard to Public Works for enforcement.
No formal vote or contract was recorded in the work session transcript; discussion focused on product features, fee mechanics and next steps for staff follow-up.
