Orinda council backs budget funding for 15 license‑plate readers, defers taking over private cameras

City Manager Smith recommended that the city add 15 publicly owned license‑plate reader (LPR) cameras to the draft budget and continue evaluating privately owned neighborhood cameras, a move the council signaled it would support.

The cameras are intended to provide consistent ingress/egress coverage across Orinda and to give police better tools to locate wanted vehicles and speed investigations. City Manager Smith told the council that staff did not recommend absorbing privately owned cameras now but instead proposed installing 15 strategically placed public cameras and returning with a one‑year progress report and potential policy on private cameras.

Why it matters: Council members and residents said LPRs can deter crime or speed investigations in neighborhoods that have experienced repeated thefts and robberies. Staff estimated the capital cost of the 15 additional cameras at roughly $55,000 and recurring annual operating costs near $45,000; staff proposed including those expenses in the upcoming biennial budget. Council directed staff to pursue federal grant funding to offset first‑year costs if those funds become available.

City Manager Smith described current local coverage and use of the system. “At this point, because the areas surrounding the Knickerbocker neighborhood are covered by existing license plate reader cameras, both the ingress and egress, into that neighborhood, we do not believe that additional publicly owned license plate reader cameras are necessary in order to provide coverage for that neighborhood,” Smith said, adding that the proposed 15 cameras would aim to give comparable coverage to all neighborhoods.

Police Chief Rossi and staff said Orinda currently operates seven city LPR locations, has two additional installations pending, and that about a dozen privately owned LPR units have been installed across town and are shared with police when owners grant access. Chief Rossi said the department receives roughly 50 LPR alerts per year and is able to respond to about 20–50% of those alerts with existing staffing and coverage. “Any information that we get in is going to be helpful,” Rossi told the council.

Resident Evan Dreyer, whose neighborhood installed two private LPRs last year, told the council the devices have coincided with a drop in crimes where they were used and urged the city to fund additional cameras without contingencies. “LPR cameras are not a perfect solution…these are a tool like any others,” Dreyer said during public comment.

Council direction and next steps: The council agreed by consensus to include funding for the 15‑camera expansion in the draft budget and to ask staff to return with progress and policy recommendations after the cameras have been operating for about a year. Staff will also seek federal appropriations to offset startup costs and will present estimated site plans (not publicly disclosed at this time) that aim to cover Orinda’s ingress and egress points.

Context and limits: Staff and council repeatedly emphasized that privately owned cameras remain the property of private residents and that any municipal assumption of privately owned systems would require separate agreements. City staff warned of a potential “slippery slope” if the city began absorbing many private systems without a clear policy or funding plan. The council directed staff to draft possible policy options for consideration if further action on private units is requested.