Council presses vendor on stop‑sign camera revenue split and missing flagging tool

Council members pressed Avio’s representative, Wade, and city finance staff about how the stop‑sign camera program’s revenues and vendor fees are accounted for and collected.

Wade said the citation amount is $40; Avio charges a $1,000 monthly per‑pole maintenance fee plus $10 per violation for processing and collections, and the remainder of net receipts goes to the town once those program fees are paid. He said the company also supports collections and court appearances on behalf of the city. Council members said the town had recorded $566,000 in receipts to date with Avio receiving approximately $261,000 under contract math; the city’s tracking shows a balance of roughly $713,000 in unpaid citations that are not carried on the city’s cash‑basis books but are being tracked off‑book.

Several council members argued flagging—the mechanism that prevents renewal of vehicle registration until fines are cleared—should have been in place before contract execution because flagging materially improves payment rates. Wade said he has twice submitted the paperwork to the state flagging service (NBA/MVA vendor) and is actively working with developers to resolve a technical handoff; he said once flagging is active payment rates typically increase. Treasurer Stewart said the city is operating on a cash basis and is not recognizing outstanding citations as receivables on the general ledger but is monitoring them separately and will consult auditors about year‑end treatment.

Council asked staff to pursue flagging activation and discuss collection options and audit treatment with the city’s auditors.