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Council to consider short extension of speed-camera contract; new contract would raise vendor fee but include equipment upgrades
Summary
Police and procurement staff requested a short extension of the city's speed-camera contract to June so staff can return with a revised agreement. The vendor's new contract proposes a higher monthly fee but upgrades equipment at no cost and keeps the program revenue-neutral for the city.
Police and procurement staff asked the mayor and council on April 15 to approve a short extension of the city's automated speed-enforcement contract through June while staff finalize a new agreement with the current vendor, Altima (which acquired the prior contractor).
Staff said the existing contract technically expired in January and that Altima offered to extend service until the city can consider the new contract. The new contract would increase the vendor's monthly fee from $2,800 to $3,499, staff said, but the city pays vendor fees only from collected citations; proposed rate changes would not increase net cost to the city unless citation revenue changed. The company also proposes equipment upgrades for existing camera sites at no cost to the city.
Police leadership said the program issues about 25,000 citations a year across 12 camera sites and that staff prefer to upgrade equipment under a new agreement. Staff noted some standard contract provisions they will seek to revise in the final contract (for example, forum-selection language and a termination clause).
Why it matters
Automated speed enforcement is both a traffic-safety tool and a revenue-bearing program; hardware and contract-terms changes affect enforcement reliability, cost recovery and legal risk. Staff said they favor the vendor and recommended a short extension while they negotiate minor contract edits.
Next steps
Council will be asked to vote on the short contract extension at the next regular meeting; staff plan to return with the draft new contract and recommended language changes later in the process.
