Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parking Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carmel board approves Passport Labs parking LPR contract after data-privacy questions
Summary
After detailed questioning about who owns and can access license-plate data, the Carmel Board of Public Works approved a roughly $79,700 contract with Passport Labs for LPR parking enforcement, with staff and corporation counsel describing contract language that limits commercial use and sets deletion requirements.
The Carmel Board of Public Works voted June 3 to approve a contract with Passport Labs for license-plate reader (LPR) parking-enforcement software and equipment, following a prolonged discussion about data ownership, retention and sharing.
Board member Mr. Potasnik led a series of questions asking who owns data collected by the Passport/Genetec system, how long records are kept, whether Passport may sell or commercially reuse data, whether data might be stored outside the United States, the system’s integration with third-party law-enforcement networks, and what protections exist if Passport is acquired. Benjamin, a staff member supporting the project, told the board the contract contains “extensive data protection language,” and that “the city owns the data.” He said the system is limited to license-plate information captured on city streets and property and is intended to assist the Carmel Police Department with enforcement.
Benjamin and corporation counsel Sergey Greshukin said the agreement includes retention and deletion terms: contract language requires deletion within 60 days after termination of the agreement or manual deletion within 180 days, and also includes acquisition clauses that require written city approval before any data transfer on change of ownership. Greshukin said the city’s IT and legal teams review software agreements and have developed an addendum addressing cybersecurity, data protection and sharing.
Asked whether Passport could sell or otherwise monetize city-collected data, Benjamin replied that the contract forbids commercial use of the data and that “it is our data, and it cannot be used for that purpose.” On the question of legal requests, Benjamin said Passport will respond to subpoenas and law enforcement requests as required by law and that the police department will follow its general orders when handling any requests for data sharing.
After the discussion, a motion to approve the contract was made, seconded and carried by voice vote. The board also voted to lift the item from the table before approving it.
The approval authorizes city staff to proceed with implementation; the record presented to the board indicates the purchase amount as $79,694.89. Staff said deployment will be staged by location and will depend on camera accessibility and mapping of spots the city chooses to address.
