From Buffalo News (https://buffalonews.com/2020/04/23/in-first-virtual-meeting-council-committee-oks-school-bus-stop-arm-cameras/)
In its first virtual meeting since figuring out how to include public comment, a Buffalo Common Council committee approved a contract for stop-arm cameras on school buses.
The program targets drivers traveling behind or toward school buses, who illegally pass buses stopped with flashing red lights and stop arms extended as students board or disembark.
During Tuesday’s virtual Finance Committee meeting, members agreed to a five-year contract with BusPatrol America to equip all 610 school buses with stop-arm cameras by September. The goal is to reduce the stop-arm violations by 25% to 30% each year of the program, said Jean Souliere, chief executive officer of BusPatrol.
There is no cost to the City of Buffalo or the Buffalo Public Schools for the program. BusPatrol will provide the capital investment up front to equip all of the buses with the cameras and provide service and equipment maintenance.
“All of the operating costs that go into supporting the program, we’re also doing that,” Souliere said.
When violations are captured on camera, BusPatrol will provide the information to law enforcement, which will authorize the issuance of tickets, Souliere said. BusPatrol will print the tickets and mail them to the vehicle’s registrant.
Per state law, the initial violation is $250 per ticket. A subsequent violation within 18 months is $275, and a third violation within 18 months is $300, said Parking Commissioner Kevin Helfer.
BusPatrol will keep 60% of the money paid for citations, and the city will keep 40%. BusPatrol also guarantees $2.5 million for the city for the first year of the contract.
Lawmakers also held a virtual Legislation Committee meeting Tuesday, sending to the full Council without recommendation a request from Community Resources for Justice to open a halfway house on Glenwood Avenue for some prisoners released to relieve crowding in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both meetings were conducted remotely and broadcast live on the Council’s Facebook page. The public commented and asked questions – particularly about the stop-arm cameras – through the Facebook live comments section and by email at councilstaff@city-buffalo.com or phone at 851-5105. A Council staffer read the public’s correspondence to the Council members.
“My goal was to make the communications as open as they would normally be if we were having person-to-person meetings. That meant the public being able to comment in real time,” said Council President Darius G. Pridgen.
When City Hall was closed to the public last month in accordance with the stay-at-home rules in reaction to the coronavirus health emergency, the Council announced it would cancel its committee meetings – which are held every other Tuesday – until further notice.
The Council’s regular business meetings continued with the first virtual session streamed live on the Council’s Facebook page on March 31. Each member participated remotely from home, but the public typically doesn’t comment at meetings of the full Council. Pridgen said during that meeting that Council staff would work on resuming committee meetings virtually to include public comment. The agenda items would have to be time-sensitive or related to the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
