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Town pauses speed-camera program; $480,000 payment and citation counts prompt legal questions
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Summary
The town reported a temporary suspension of its speed-camera program on April 2 for incomplete state-mandated procedures. The controller said the town received $480,000 from Blue Line Solutions and presented March citation data; board members raised questions about lease liability and whether collected funds must be returned.
Town finance staff told the Board of Estimate and Taxation on Wednesday that the towns automated speed-camera program was temporarily suspended on April 2 because state-mandated procedural steps were not completed.
"The speed-camera program was temporarily suspended on 04/02/2026 due to incomplete state-mandated procedural steps," Comptroller Joan Lynch said. She added that the financial agreement with vendor Blue Line Solutions remains active and that the town received a payment of $480,000 from Blue Line on April 16.
Blue Lines data, as presented in the controllers report, showed citations in March; the transcript reads the figure as 4,822 citations issued in March, which board members annualized in discussion. "I'll just comment on it said that there were 4,822 citations in March. So annualized, that's about $3,200,000," member Tarkington observed while noting the cameras are in a small part of town dominated by private schools and that March included school vacation days.
Board members asked whether turning the cameras off permanently could create lease or other legal liabilities. Miss Bednar asked explicitly whether there is liability associated with a lease arrangement if the town does not turn the cameras back on; staff said the contract as signed called for no cost to the town but deferred legal determinations to the law department. "My understanding, there's a contract that says no cost," the controller said, and added that legal counsel was handling outstanding questions.
Officials also noted the collections are currently in a restricted account and that because the program is suspended there are no immediate plans to expend the funds. The board requested that staff add lease and liability questions to the list of legal follow-ups and noted the police and selectmen would receive updates.
The board did not take a formal action on the program at this meeting; members requested additional information from the law department and police before deciding whether to resume, modify or end the program.
