Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trustees press staff on facial‑recognition contract, CivicPlus fees and $115,000 meter program during voucher approval
Summary
During approval of $268,652.52 in vouchers, trustees asked staff to explain a $1,440 AFR engine charge (described as a facial‑recognition contract), questioned rising CivicPlus/CivicRec fees and sought details on an annual $115,000 water‑meter replacement program.
At the Jan. 26 Village of Hartland board meeting trustees approved vouchers totaling $268,652.52 but used that vote to question multiple recurring and technical expenses.
A trustee asked about a $1,440 line item listed as an “AFR engine” subscription for law enforcement. Chief Misco explained, “That’s our contract with our facial recognition company. So if we have photos or camera video of someone, we can put it into that database. What they do is they pull booking photos from across the country, and then it can provide a match.” The explanation prompted clarification requests but no change to the voucher approval.
Trustees also queried CivicPlus/CivicRec annual fees tied to the village’s website and recreation‑registration platform. One trustee said the fee “seemed high,” noting past annual amounts under $9,000 and an initial lower rate; staff explained the vendor added payment and scheduling features that have increased cost.
On water utilities, a trustee asked about an $115,000 annual meter replacement line. Staff explained meters follow a roughly 10‑year replacement/rebuild cycle, with about 300 smart‑meter radio units scheduled per year; commercial meters may be on a 2–4 year rotation depending on usage. Staff described the field process (appointments, half‑hour to one‑hour visits, bench testing of replaced meters) and noted the PSC requirement to rebuild meters periodically.
The board carried the vouchers motion after those clarifications. Trustees asked staff to pull contracts and confirm year‑over‑year cost changes where appropriate.
Next steps: finance staff to provide contract details and historic billing for CivicPlus/CivicRec and to confirm the meter‑replacement budgeting assumptions for trustees’ review.
