Clinton Council refers automated traffic enforcement ordinance to March 25 public hearing

The Clinton Town Council voted unanimously Feb. 4 to approve clerical corrections to a draft ordinance authorizing the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices and to send the ordinance to an informational session at 6:00 p.m. and a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on March 25, 2026.

The ordinance, submitted in full in the meeting record, would allow automated devices in school zones, pedestrian safety zones and other approved locations under the state statute codified at C.G.S. §14-307c and related Public Acts. Devices would detect and document two kinds of alleged violations: a vehicle exceeding the posted speed limit by 10 miles per hour or more, and failure to stop at a steady red traffic signal. For the first 30 days after a location is equipped with an operational device, the ordinance requires issuance of a written warning rather than a citation.

Council member Brian Roccapriore flagged two clerical corrections to be incorporated in Section 500-25(A) and 500-25(I); Council member Dennis Donovan urged scheduling the hearing in warmer weather. Carrie Allen moved the motion to approve the edits and send the ordinance to public hearing; Jeremiah Dunn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Key provisions in the draft include: a vendor prohibition on contingency fees tied to citations; review of recorded images by a sworn Police Department member before a citation is issued; required citation contents (owner name and address, number plate, violation charged, device location, and information on how to view recorded images); verification that the device was operating correctly and documentation of the most recent calibration check; and a warning period for newly equipped locations. The ordinance sets fines at up to $50 for a first offense and up to $75 for subsequent violations, allows electronic payment and a reasonable electronic processing fee not to exceed $15, and requires that fines be deposited into a designated, nonlapsing “Traffic Safety Fund” for transportation mobility and safety improvements.

The draft also outlines a Citation Hearing process conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the Town Manager and preserves statutory defenses listed in the text (for example, operation of an emergency vehicle or an inoperative traffic control signal as observable on recorded images). The ordinance restricts disclosure and retention of personally identifiable information, directs destruction of identifying data no later than 30 days after collection or resolution of a hearing, and requires annual reporting to the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Joint Standing Committee of the General Assembly on program effectiveness.

The council did not take final action on the ordinance text at the Feb. 4 meeting; the public hearing is the next formal step in the local process.