Taos County approves purchase of 20 license‑plate readers to aid deputies

Taos County commissioners voted to give the county manager authority to finalize and sign a contract for 20 license‑plate‑reader cameras and a five‑year subscription to software that will feed alerts to county dispatch and participating deputies.

Roberto Saragosa, the county’s E‑911 director, told the commission the system is designed to inform dispatch and deputies when a plate in their area matches an entry in national databases. “Public safety runs on information,” Saragosa said, describing the system as a “force multiplier” that can automatically notify dispatch when a stolen vehicle or another entered plate is detected.

Commissioners asked how the cameras would be used, whether they could record speed and who would pay. Saragosa said the system is not intended for speed enforcement; it reads plates and checks them against databases such as the National Crime Information Center and can flag missing‑person or stolen‑vehicle plates. He described the purchase as a joint venture with the Taos County Sheriff’s Office and said the sheriff would fund part of the effort while the county would fund the remainder.

Vice Chair and other commissioners pressed for examples of outcomes in nearby jurisdictions; Saragosa pointed to deployments in Albuquerque and the Town of Taos, and cited a local case in which plate readers helped identify vehicles and suspects quickly. Commissioners made a motion to authorize the county manager to sign the final negotiated contract; the motion passed on a roll‑call vote.

The commission’s approval grants signing authority to county management so staff can complete negotiations with the vendor; the contract will return to the county for any required reporting or implementation steps. Commissioners asked staff to provide more detail about data retention, access controls and whether the system will integrate with existing county privacy and records policies before widespread deployment.