City Council
MEETING DATE: 4/11/2018
TITLE:
Title
American Traffic Solutions Contract Renewal
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FROM:
Travis Walker, Chief of Police
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff is offering three options for Council consideration regarding the renewal of the current Red-Light Safety Camera program:
A. Renew the current contract between the City of Cathedral City and American Traffic Solutions Inc. at the monthly rate of $10,500.
B. Modify the current contract between the City of Cathedral City and American Traffic Solutions Inc. to reduce the number of cameras from three to one.
C. Cancel the contract between the City of Cathedral City and American Traffic Solutions Inc.
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BACKGROUND:
The Cathedral City Police Department began its Red-Light Camera program in August 2006, with cameras at the intersection of Date Palm Drive and Ramon Road. In the almost three-year testing period the traffic collisions decreased by 75%, from 29 accidents to seven. After evaluating the cost of the program and the reduction in traffic collisions at this intersection, two more intersections were outfitted with cameras in February 2009. The cost of the program during this time was $179,640.
The two intersections that were added were Ramon Road and Landau Blvd., and Vista Chino and Date Palm Drive. At this time the contract was renegotiated and the price was reduced to $126,000 per year, or $3,500 a month per camera.
The contract with American Traffic Solutions is set to renew on June 2, 2018, as part of our second one-year renewal options, as outlined in the 2014 contract.
DISCUSSION:
The Red-Light Camera Program has been operational for over ten and a half years now, which provides us with a good historical perspective on the functionality and success of the system.
The following is three years’ worth of data on citations issued:
2015 - 3,212 violations reviewed. 2,310 citations issued.
2016 - 3,150 violations reviewed. 2,890 citations issued.
2017 - 2,650 violations reviewed. 2,520 citations issued.
We have seen accidents fluctuate at the three intersections over the past three years:
2015 - 91 accidents
2016 - 110 accidents
2017 - 75 accidents
The two officers assigned to this program spend an average of 84 hours a month handling the administrative duties associated with managing the Red-Light Camera safety program. These duties include, but are not limited to: Viewing every violation that occurs, completion of the citation process, preparing for court on contested citations, and courtroom testimony. These officers also spend time answering phone inquiries regarding violations, and facilitating the review of violations at the police station. The cost associated with the 84 hours of staff's time translates to $128,016 a year for the officers to run this program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The annual renewal cost of the American Traffic Solutions contract is $126,000.
ATTACHMENTS:
American Traffic Solutions Contract
PowerPoint Presentation