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Finance committee approves $4M contract for mobile speed and noise cameras; city retains program data
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Summary
The committee approved a $4 million, five-year services agreement with Genoptix Smart Mobility Solutions LLC to deploy six mobile automated enforcement devices (all with speed detection; two with sound enforcement). The city will own program data; community-service in lieu of fines is an option under the program.
The Santa Fe Finance Committee voted to approve a five-year, $4,000,000 general services agreement with Genoptix Smart Mobility Solutions LLC to deploy automated speed and noise enforcement across the city.
Deputy Chief Ben Valdez told the committee the initial deployment will use six mobile devices — three assigned to the city’s north side and three to the south side — and that every device will enforce posted speed limits while two platforms will also measure exhaust noise. “We’re gonna be deploying, 6 mobile devices in our community. 3 will be assigned to the North Side, and 3 will be assigned to the South Side,” Valdez said.
Valdez outlined the program’s civil-penalty structure and alternatives. For typical speed violations he said the civil penalty is about $50 (higher in school zones), while a sound-enforcement first offense is roughly $500. He emphasized an option for defendants to perform community service instead of paying fines and said the city allocated $1,000,000 to support the program’s launch and cover community-service substitutions early on. “If someone does request to do that in lieu of paying the fee, then the city will pay for the fine, and the person that requested community service will be directed to one of our nonprofits,” Valdez said.
On data and privacy, councilors pressed who controls recordings and whether the vendor could sell data. Staff pointed to contract language stating the customer retains rights to program data and that Genoptix will hold raw records for three years in case of legal challenge; Valdez said most program data will be aggregated and de-identified for analysis. “The customer shall retain all right, title, and interest in and to any information, data, study findings, or report created by Genoptix related specifically to our program,” Valdez said, reading from the contract.
Councilors also pressed calibration, verification and quality control. The staff presentation commits that device calibration will be validated onsite, that vendor systems include self-checks, and that city staff will review evidence before a citation is mailed; the deployment threshold for issuing a speed violation was described as exceeding the limit by 10 mph in validated setups. Valdez said the program will begin with a public education period and visible deployment (signage and public notices) before live citations are issued.
After discussion, a council motion to approve the contract was moved and seconded and passed by roll call.
