Board approves five‑year Samsara telematics contract for public works vehicles

The Milford City Board of Aldermen on a roll‑call vote approved a five‑year agreement to install Samsara telematics systems on public works vehicles, a purchase officials said will add driver alerts, cloud camera storage, diagnostic reporting and tighter integration with the department's garage software.

Assistant Public Works Director Rob Harrigan told the board the new system will replace the city's current Geotab setup and provide "driver alerts" for events such as running stop signs or distracted driving, cloud storage for vehicle cameras (replacing SD cards) and automated mileage, hours and diagnostics that integrate with the garage software. Harrigan said the five‑year contract has an aggregate value of $273,660.50 and would put devices on roughly 164 vehicles and equipment units.

The board debated procurement and contract terms. Alderman Peter Smith questioned why the city did not issue its own request for proposals and pressed staff on confidentiality and data‑use provisions in the vendor's boilerplate contract. "This is a competitive bid process," City Attorney said, arguing the administration relied on a state cooperative purchasing contract (Sourcewell/DAS) that is itself competitively bid and allows municipalities to "piggyback" onto state procurement. The city attorney and Harrigan also said the order form negotiated by the city contains term changes and an appropriation‑out clause that permits termination if future budgets do not fund the service.

Proponents said the system should reduce manual supervisor work and improve safety oversight. Harrigan described pilot results on a small number of vehicles: "We've been able to use the dual facing camera to teach better driving habits [and] the garage has been able to consistently get accurate miles, hours, and diagnostics." Finance staff told the board the first year of the contract is funded in the department's current budget line for vehicle GPS/telemetry.

Opponents and skeptics focused on process and contract language. Alderman Smith asked whether Samsara or a third party would be able to access customer data and pointed to clauses that grant the vendor broad rights; Harrigan said key operational data would be available to approved city supervisors and that aggregated/anonymous uses were standard. The city attorney said negotiated order‑form language removed problematic indemnity terms and that the city retains termination rights if the vendor unilaterally changes price or terms in a way that removes appropriation.

The board adopted the motion authorizing the mayor, public works director and city attorney to execute the agreement. Roll call recorded the following votes: Alderman Beattie — yes; Alderman Bevan — yes; Alderman Casey — yes; Alderman Federico — yes; Alderman Fowler — yes; Alderman Healy — yes; Alderman Haidt — yes; Alderman Jenkins — yes; Alderman Marlowe — yes; Alderman Moe Rennon — yes; Alderman Pacelli — yes; Alderman Smith — no; Alderman Vitro — yes; Alderman Vitale — yes. The motion passed with 13 yes and 1 no.

What happens next: city staff said the contract will be activated when the existing vendor contract expires; the order form includes implementation and an initial expense schedule for the first two years. Staff also said the contract contains an option allowing the city to decline funding in future budgets and thereby terminate the agreement without penalty. The board did not direct additional follow‑up beyond questions about specific confidentiality and audit language; staff said they would provide clarifying language and confirm who outside the city would have access to aggregated data.