Council committee approves RouteWare contract to add cameras to every sanitation truck

The High Point Finance Committee on May 14 approved a three-year contract with RouteWare Inc. to digitize garbage-route management, expand tablet licensing for drivers and install cameras on every collection truck.

Assistant Public Services Director Melinda King told the committee the city previously contracted with Rubicon in 2023 to digitize paper routes and has since concluded that every truck should be equipped with cameras. "We are gonna have 40 cameras, installed so that every truck in our fleet will have that capability," King said, adding that the change will aid incident tracking, driver training and routing efficiency.

Why it matters: City staff said full-fleet cameras and updated routing software will help the department respond faster to incidents (for example, identifying the origin of a truck fire), avoid duplicate passes on routes and support newer drivers with turn-by-turn directions. King said the first year carries higher costs because of camera and hardware purchases, followed by annual licensing with a 3% increase in years two and three.

Financials and implementation

King presented first-year costs, including hardware and licensing, of $155,099.72 and said the three-year contract total is $379,996.80. She told the committee the contract includes tablet licenses for drivers and that expanding camera coverage addresses recent operational needs such as contamination reports and a truck fire that required video review.

Council questions and staff responses

A committee member asked about potential cost savings from more efficient routing; King said savings come from reduced mileage, fewer repeat service runs and improved driver coordination, and she described operational examples where the system reduced wasted trips. The committee did not request additional study before approving the contract.

Outcome and next steps

The committee moved, seconded and approved the RouteWare contract by voice vote. Implementation will be led by the Public Services Department; staff said the initial work includes hardware installation and tablet deployment to establish full-fleet camera coverage.