Council approves contract to install speed cameras on I-80 near Newton

Newton City Council did not seem thrilled — or even interested — in the idea of installing speed cameras when it was first proposed as another way to boost city revenues back in December 2023. Several budget workshops and a presentation from a speed camera company have since smoothed over their stances.

As a result, city council on Feb. 19 voted unanimously in favor of approving a five-year agreement with Sensys Gatso USA, Inc. to install an automated traffic enforcement system, or speed cameras, on Interstate 80, in order to “reduce the incidents of speeding, crashes and public safety response.”

It was noted in the council report that the speed cameras are expected to bring revenue to the city, but the amount of revenue is unknown at this time. Sensys Gatso USA will receive $35 per paid violation for providing the equipment and the service; the city will retain the remainder of the paid violations.

While both city staff and elected officials have acknowledged in the past that speed cameras could be controversial with residents, council seemed more accepting of the idea when it was proposed they would be installed on Interstate 80 and nowhere near residential areas or the main thoroughfare of First Avenue.

Speed cameras have been largely criticized as unethical cash grabs for the revenue they generate. The nearby Prairie City installed four speed cameras and ended up collecting more speeding ticket fees than it did property taxes in 2022. In total, Prairie City collected $3.3 million in extra revenue.

According to the council report, Newton police officers and fire department staff respond to an average of 210 incidents and traffic crashes on I-80 between the 159-mile marker and 171-mile marker each year. Responding to these incidents tends to be the most dangerous for first responders.

Large vehicles, increased speeds and poor weather conditions pose a hazard to all responders involved, even more so at night. The city stated a number of police and fire equipment has been damaged as a result of emergency response on I-80, and some responders have nearly been struck by passing cars.

In 2023, the area between mile markers 159 and 164 was designated a “safety corridor” by the Iowa Department of Transportation, and as being in the top 1 percent of all crashes and severe crashes in the state. The area borders the police department’s response area and is within the fire station’s jurisdiction.

The city also noted in its council report that recruiting police and fire department staff has been challenging in recent years, thereby “straining the resources of the public safety agencies to enforce traffic laws on I-80 and respond to incidents well outside the primary business and residential area of the community.”

Other municipalities have turned to speed cameras to enforce traffic violations because of their limited resources and safety concerns for motorists and first responders. The city’s council report stated speeding is a “significant problem” and is the leading cause of fatality crashes in the United States.

Sensys Gatso, the Massachusetts-based vendor of speed cameras, has experience installing systems on four-lane highways throughout Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Chester, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Grinnell, Independence, LeClair, Marion, Marshalltown, Muscatine, Oelwein, Waterloo and many more.

The five-year contract with Newton requires no upfront costs since the vendor collects a portion of the paid violations.

Up to five months is needed to implement the program. But Newton still needs the approval from the Iowa Department of Transportation prior to the installation of the speed cameras on I-80. If approved, the first 30 days of speed camera operations would only issue warnings to violators.

Sensys Gatso will be in charge of sending the first and second citation mailings. The city would need to establish a speed camera ordinance and hire one full-time staff member and one part-time staff member to administer the program prior to the implementation. Staff would need to be current, former or retired officers.

Council member Randy Ervin raised concerns over the contract with Sensys Gatso if the Iowa Legislature decides to ban speed cameras. Newton News contacted Rep. Jon Dunwell, who serves on the House Transportation Committee, and he confirmed these bills are being considered by lawmakers.

“Minimally, I’m for putting some restrictions on them,” Dunwell said to Newton News. “People feel they are abused and utilized to make money. I think there are examples of that happening. But some appear to promote good public safety.”

While it is currently unclear if legislators would outright ban the use of speed cameras or place restrictions on them, the city’s agreement with Sensys Gatso would otherwise be void if legislation is passed banning or significantly altering the operations of speed camera systems within the state.

Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess said since payment is largely generated to the vendor through speeding citations, if the contract is null and void then Sensys Gatso would remove its equipment and part ways with the city. Burdess said if council approves the contract, local lobbying would be an asset at the Capitol.

Council member Stacy Simbro asked if the system could work in tandem with the license plate reader cameras, which were approved in January and were to be placed in select locations within city limits to track fleeing criminals. Burdess said the newest technology can do that but there are not many deployments out yet.

“We can explore that piece of it. It’s something they can just turn on, is my understanding, or can add on … once our system is installed,” Burdess said. “It is two separate companies that we would be trying to pair together. They’re still working on those department shifts in the background.”

Burdess also acknowledged no license plate reader cameras have been installed along the interstate.

The revenue generated from the speed camera program is largely dependent on the number of citations issued each year. Because of the volatility of future legislation, it was recommended to council that revenue should only be utilized for one-time capital purchases and not ongoing general fund expenditures.

However, the only exception to general fund expenses was for the staff positions needed to administer the program. It is also recommended the city use the revenues to purchase public safety vehicles, equipment and facility upgrades for the police and fire departments, as well as one-time street improvement projects.