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Waukegan subcommittee approves fleet camera system after resident questions city costs
Summary
The Public Works & Infrastructure Subcommittee approved a multi-year contract to equip about 150 city vehicles with Samsara fleet cameras, with staff saying the system will aid liability, driver training and route management; a resident said his calculation suggested the city faced a far higher bill and asked for more scrutiny.
Aldermen on the City of Waukegan Public Works & Infrastructure Subcommittee voted March 16 to purchase and install fleet cameras for public-works and water department vehicles, with staff saying the system will provide liability evidence, help train new drivers and improve route management.
The resolution authorizes joint-purchasing through Sourcewell for a Samsara system (referred to in the record as "Car-Soft Technology") with a not-to-exceed cost of $152,222.41 in year one and $119,713.30 per year for years two through five. Committee members stated the equipment will be installed on about 150 vehicles.
Why it mattered: a resident, Jesse Risotto of Ward 6, pressed the committee during public comment, saying, "what my calculator tells me is that we're about to spend over $600,000 on dash cameras," and asked how many vehicles would be outfitted and what the per-vehicle cost would be. The committee and staff did not adopt Risotto's calculation; the official proposal recorded in the meeting transcript lists the year-one and recurring annual amounts above.
Staff described practical uses for the system. The superintendent said the cameras capture front and rear views and can be used as evidence in traffic or property-damage incidents, recounting a recent example on Keller and Dodge in which on-scene video would have helped clarify liability: "it would have been better for us liability-wise to have video footage of that situation," the superintendent said. He added the system can store footage for up to a year in the cloud and can support route guidance to assist new drivers, and that driver-facing cameras could be added in the future though staff said they do not plan to use that feature now.
Committee members asked about camera coverage and retention. One member confirmed the cameras are "not 360°" but cover the front and rear; staff said the provider retains data in the cloud and acknowledged footage "might be subpoenaed," underscoring the need for a records-preservation policy.
Alderman Newsome moved the motion and Alderman Donnewald seconded; roll call recorded the motion as carried. The committee did not record individual roll-call votes beyond the chair and aldermen indicating Aye in the transcript.
What happens next: the contract will proceed under the joint-purchasing arrangement described in the item; staff said they would follow up with the resident who raised questions. The committee recorded the approval during the March 16 meeting.
