Evanston council weighs allowing Mountain View to piggyback on city DigiTicket contract; legal paperwork questioned

Evanston City Council members on Oct. 7 discussed a request from the town of Mountain View to use Evanston's DigiTicket digital-ticketing contract so Mountain View officers can issue electronic citations using Evanston's system.

Police Chief Ranish told the council Mountain View's participation would reduce costs for Mountain View and "there's no cost to the City of Evanston," and said Mountain View would pay for the additional DigiTicket licenses for its chief and one officer.

Council members pressed for legal and procedural clarity. One council member cited state and city statutes and asked whether Evanston could obligate itself as a fiscal agent for another jurisdiction without a formal intergovernmental agreement or joint powers board. The city attorney told the council, "We're not acting as a fiscal agent for the town of Mountain View under this agreement. So that section of the statute does not apply." Several council members asked staff to make the contract and packet line items clearer before proceeding.

Chief Ranish said Evanston's department has already purchased DigiTicket and that Mountain View would pay DigiTicket directly for additional licenses. He said the two licenses in the packet reflect Mountain View's need for a chief and one officer account and that the arrangement would not route Mountain View's payments through Evanston or change how Evanston handles data and court processing.

Council discussion included a motion to "enter into a contract with Mountain View"; the motion was seconded. The meeting record provided does not show a final roll-call vote on that motion.

Council members asked staff to ensure the packet line item (referred to during discussion as "164405") and related paperwork are broken out and clarified so the city's procedures and obligations are clearly documented before any final vote.

If approved in a later vote, the arrangement would let Mountain View use Evanston's DigiTicket installation while paying the vendor for its own additional licenses, according to police remarks at the meeting.