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Newington council approves sole-source license-plate-reader purchase for regional integration
Summary
The Newington Town Council granted a waiver to buy license-plate-reader (LPR) technology from Flock Safety as a sole-source provider, citing interoperability with neighboring towns; the contract carries a first-year cost of $65,750 and recurring licensing starting at $52,500.
The Newington Town Council on June 24 approved a sole-source procurement to acquire license-plate-reader (LPR) technology from Flock Safety Public Safety Solutions, citing the technology’s regional integration with neighboring towns.
Councilor Paige moved the resolution and Councilor Gonzalez seconded; the motion carried unanimously. Under the resolution the town will waive sealed-bid procurement under section 8-13 of the town charter and award the LPR implementation at a first-year cost of $65,750 and recurring amounts described in the agreement beginning at $52,500 per year.
Councilors asked staff how the multi-year costs would be handled and whether the town would be locked into long-term obligations. A staff member explained that year one includes implementation costs and subsequent years represent licensing, that the licensing line will be budgeted annually, and that the town can cancel or terminate the relationship if costs become excessive. Councilor questions included whether the recurring increases would come back to council in future budgets and whether contract termination language exists.
Councilor Paige said the decision rests in part on interoperability: "Every other community in our area uses Flock. So for it to integrate with Weathersfield, Rocky Hill, etc., we can only use Flock," noting cross-jurisdictional benefits for investigations. A town staff member confirmed the purchase aims to maintain compatibility with neighboring systems.
The resolution does not list individual vote tallies in the record; minutes state the motion "carries unanimously." The procurement description in the meeting packet lists year-one implementation charges and subsequent licensing costs but staff told council some cost detail was withheld as proprietary; staff offered to provide a more detailed cost breakout to any councilor who requests it.
The council did not take up policy or privacy controls during the discussion beyond budget and interoperability questions; the motion approved the procurement as presented and placed licensing costs in the operating budget for future years.
Outcome: waiver and purchase approved; first-year cost $65,750, subsequent-year licensing starting at $52,500.
