Board approves multi-year fleet-tracking subscription; funding and privacy questions raised

What happened: Speaker 1 proposed purchasing a multi-year vehicle-tracking subscription from a vendor referred to in the transcript as "Samsera/Sam Sarah." Speaker 1 described the subscription as covering up to 14 vehicles (excluding heavy-duty CDL trucks) and provided invoicing details: a first invoice of $3,790 and recurring annual charges discussed as approximately $3,633, with a three-year total cited in the discussion as about $11,056 (transcript figures vary slightly).

Questions and features: Speaker 2 asked whether the system tracks per-vehicle mileage and how mileage reporting would be used for insurance and maintenance. Speaker 1 said the system can track distance, maintenance needs and mileage and that the devices plug into vehicles, are simple to install, and generate tamper alerts if removed.

Privacy and access: Speaker 1 said vehicle-location displays would be restricted so that only certain people can access live locations; the board emphasized they do not intend to make police-car locations public.

Funding: Speaker 2 asked where the money would come from and requested the first invoice (about $3,000–$3,790, per the transcript) be transferred from contingency. Speaker 1 confirmed the first invoice would be charged in the current year and the board discussed splitting cost allocations across department budgets or using contingency.

Outcome: Speaker 1 moved to approve the subscription and called a voice vote; the motion passed and the board directed staff to order and install the system. Speaker 2’s line-item funding allocation requests and per-vehicle accounting were left for staff follow-up.

Vendor name and numbers: the transcript contains multiple spellings of the vendor and slightly different cost figures; the vendor name is reported here as Samsara (commonly used industry spelling) with transcript sourcing preserved in provenance.