Council gives staff go-ahead to circulate speed‑camera contract after police chief recommendation; formal vote to follow

Taneytown’s police chief recommended a specific speed‑camera vendor during the June 9 council meeting and said other local chiefs had positive experience with the company. Council gave staff a consensus to proceed with contract review and to circulate the contract to councilmembers for review before any execution, and members planned to take further comment at the June 18 meeting.

The chief said he had consulted several police chiefs who use the vendor and described the equipment as “state of the art.” He noted the city’s proposed agreement would piggyback off a contract another Maryland agency had already executed and that the contract is structured as a revenue-generating professional-services agreement rather than a cost item for the city.

Several council members said they want to review the vendor contract before approving it. “I’m not comfortable giving approval to a contract I haven’t seen,” one member said; the city manager committed to circulate the draft contract to the council this week for review and to include the item on the June 18 agenda for further discussion and a formal vote if the council wishes to proceed.

Staff flagged that state law sets fee caps and that placement and fine procedures are governed by statute and administrative rules; the chief said those constraints make vendor proposals largely comparable across suppliers. Councilmembers asked staff to share vendor performance data and any revenue estimates along with the contract packet before the next meeting.

The mayor sought a council consensus so the chief could finalize vendor negotiations; members agreed to circulate the contract and discuss on June 18. Two council members who have in the past opposed speed cameras are expected to be absent from the June 18 meeting, and several participants asked those members to submit written comments if they could not attend.