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Delegation tables Rising Sun stop‑sign camera pilot to remove county‑council approval and seek local buy‑in
Summary
After a presentation from Rising Sun Police Chief Chip Peterson about recurring stop‑sign near‑misses, the Cecil Delegation agreed to table HB1370 and draft an amendment making the program a town council decision and to seek nonprofit and municipal letters of support.
The Cecil Delegation tabled a proposed pilot to permit stop‑sign camera enforcement in the town of Rising Sun after delegates and the county executive voiced concerns about county council involvement and local buy‑in.
Chair Kevin introduced HB1370 as an enabling pilot based on systems used in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and said the draft required county council approval. Chip Peterson, police chief of Rising Sun, told the delegation his town has “nearly, you know, weekly, ... complaints of near misses at the stop sign” and limited staffing to monitor the intersection. He warned: “At some point, we're going to have people injured, maybe even a fatality because, you know, people do not stop at the stop signs.”
Concerns raised: County Executive Straight told the delegation that county council members had expressed discomfort with the bill as written and “will not be supporting it,” arguing the town should decide municipal enforcement. Delegates also raised neighborhood‑policing concerns and whether the program would become a revenue source. Chip Peterson and the chair said the intent is behavior change, not revenue, and noted a nonprofit has offered outreach help. The delegation discussed a posting and warning period; Kevin said signage will be posted and the first one to two months would generate warning letters before citations start.
Outcome: The delegation agreed there was preliminary support for an amendment removing county council approval and making implementation a town council decision. Chair Kevin said he would have an amendment drafted, include input from the nonprofit, and reconvene the delegation to vote once those materials are provided; he formally tabled the bill pending that amendment.
What remains unresolved: The transcript records no formal roll call on the tabling; the county council’s specific objections were not all detailed on the record. The record also lacks vendor contract specifics, exact vendor fee percentages and a finalized revenue split beyond a candidate figure (vendor operational share described informally as about 12% in analogous contexts).
