Cumberland delays decision on truck-mounted trash cameras, will monitor bag revenue and roll out new cans

Town staff discussed a proposal to add truck-mounted cameras to curbside collection trucks and recommended delaying a purchase while the town monitors bag-sales revenue once new carts are delivered.

Chris, a staff member, told the council the camera system would cost about $35,000 and could be amortized over the remaining four years of the town’s current contract “which comes to around $8,700 a year.” He said the camera takes a photo at each stop and the vendor’s software flags images that do not match the town’s green bag standard and then emails daily potential violations with the address.

The town would have to assign staff to review flagged images and then adopt an ordinance or enforcement policy to act on any violations. “The town will now have to provide staff to review this, and then we would need to come up with an ordinance or policies of how we take it from there,” Chris said.

Staff described how neighboring North Yarmouth handled enforcement: warning by phone, then a card, and removal of a can after repeated violations, with an appeal process. North Yarmouth reported a drop to “probably 2 or 3 a week” of noncompliant pickups, though some flagged images were false positives, staff said.

Councilors and staff raised operational and cost concerns. A council member identified as Ronald said in his experience vehicle-mounted cameras often fail in rain or snow: “When it rains, they don't work. When it snows, they're covered with snow,” he said. Other councilors noted side‑loader truck mechanics and weather could impair camera performance.

Several councilors said the town can instead track bag revenues and compliance after the transition to standardized carts and bags. Staff said every household will receive two carts and that the carts are about 35 gallons; residents who want an additional cart must request it and pay Casella, the hauler. Chris said carts will begin to be delivered within the next week or two in anticipation of a possible July 1 rollout, and Casella will assist with notifications.

Councilors settled on monitoring performance and revenues before committing to cameras. Staff proposed tracking bag sales and related revenues on a three‑month rolling schedule, with a report back to the council and the option to implement cameras if the town sees sustained revenue leakage. “We could look at it for 6 months … and evaluate,” Chris said, while others argued for an earlier quarterly check. One councilor summarized the group’s sense as delaying a camera decision for an initial three‑month/quarterly monitoring period and then reconsidering if revenue targets are not met.

Staff also emphasized outreach: “We need to ramp up the communication on the fact that the bags aren't going away,” one council member said, noting public confusion about whether bags would be required under the new cart system.

The meeting included procedural and operational questions about spare bins, compostable or recycled-content bags, and the short‑term staffing impact of noncamera enforcement (boots on the ground). Staff said they will provide more details on bin sizes, rollout timing, and a three‑month revenue monitoring plan to the council.

The discussion closed with the council directing staff to proceed with cart delivery and community outreach, monitor bag sales and compliance on a quarterly basis beginning with the new carts, and report back to the council with data; no purchase order or ordinance was approved during the meeting.