Yorba Linda installs 36 license plate reader cameras; City Council candidates file final expenditure reports for 2022 election

 

A recent request by the Orange County Sheriff's Department for Yorba Linda to install license plate reader cameras throughout the 20-square-mile city has been approved on a unanimous City Council vote.

Council members awarded a $114,600 contract to the Atlanta, Georgia-based Flock Safety company for the installation of 36 cameras on several of the city's existing traffic signal and street light poles, as well as some newly installed poles in public rights-of way.

The law enforcement agency asked for the automated cameras “to improve the public safety services they provide to the community,” according to a report to council from Dave Christian, assistant city manager.

“Specifically, the cameras would enhance their ability to find stolen vehicles, find 'persons-of-interest' and conduct investigations,” Christian said, noting, “public safety has always been atop priority” for the city.

The Flock Safety cameras are unique, Christian said, because their user-interface software provides a simple search of the database with unlimited user licenses. With the software, law enforcement can receive hotlist alerts and create custom alerts for plates under investigation.

The company's camera systems are used in more than 600 cities in 38 states, including 12 cities in Orange County, Buena Park and Fullerton among them. Cameras also are used by homeowners associations, including at least two in Yorba Linda.

Christian said: “It should be noted that all data will be transmitted in encrypted form directly from the cameras to the cloud stored where it can be accessed only by law enfocement for a period of one year.”

The cameras do not include facial recognition, do not record video, only capture images of the rear of vehicles and are not used for red light infractions or moving violations, Christian stated.Locations are strategic to best capture vehicles entering and leaving the city.

After an initial payment of $114,600 for the first year, ongoing annual costs will be $100,800, according to Christian, which includes $2,500 for each camera and $300 data storage costs per camera.

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Yorba Linda's three City Council candidates filed their final state-mandated finance reports for the November election by the Jan. 31 deadline. A total $176,777 was spent by the contenders in 2022.

Biggest spender was Carlos Rodriguez, who placed first in the balloting for two positions. He spent $104,953 to win 16,392 votes, or $6.40 per vote. He ended with $6,467 in his account.

Second-place finisher Janice Lim spent $61,110 to win 13,266 votes, or $4.61 per vote, ending with $3,005 in her account. Third-place finisher Ryan Bent spent $10,714 to win 12,334 votes, or $1.15 per vote, ending with no balance.

Rodriguez and Lim have outstanding loans they made to their campaigns ($9,500 and $5,000), which can be paid back by current funds or future contributions. Bent forgave his $3,000 loan.

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District trustees consider earlier start for 2024-25 year

 

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District trustees are expected to make a decision by late Spring on moving the starting date of the school year up one or two weeks, which would make the first semester end before the two-week Winter recess, among other benefits.

Discussion of a possible change came at a recent trustee meeting, with remarks from interim Superintendent Michael Matthews, who said moving to an earlier start would be “challenging” but “positive,” based on his past experiences in two districts he has served.

The earliest the starting date could change would be for the 2024-25 school year, since instructional dates for the next school year already are finalized, Matthews told trustees.

Trustees seemed amenable to an earlier start date, with some suggesting a change could be implemented in steps, starting with one week earlier for the 2024-25 school year and another week earlier for a later school year.

This year, the district had the latest start date of the county's 12 unified school districts, beginning the week of Aug. 29. Nine districts, including Brea-Olinda Unified, started the week of Aug. 15 and two started the week of Aug. 22.

A change could give high school students a “true Winter break,” Matthews said, since the second semester would start after the two-week vacation. He said the first semester doesn't have to be the same length as the second semster, since the latter involves testing.

Another benefit from a change would be that Fall sports would start closer to the opening day of school. This year, high schools played in two football games before school started Aug. 30.

Also, students would be better able to enroll in summer community college classes, since now those classes begin before the district's school year ends, and the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students would have more classroom time before early May tests.

A one- or two-week earlier start would mean a shorter summer vacation during the transition years, but that could be overcome by a three-week Winter break, several trustees suggested.

An earlier start, if implemented, would affect a projected enrollment of 22,226 students on the district's 34 campuses in the 2024-25 school year, down from this year's 22,986 count.

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A couple noteworthy 3-2 trustee votes pitted Leandra Blades, Todd Frazier and Shawn Youngblood against Marilyn Anderson and Carrie Buck at the board's Jan. 17 meeting.

The majority voted to approve a contract with a superintendent search firm to find candidates to replace Matthews when his one-year interim contract expires June 30 and hired a new firm to handle the board's legal matters.

The “yes” trustees wanted to move ahead with the search and were unhappy with some of the current law firm's recent actions. The “no” trustees expressed concerns about the search firm's $50,000 cost and wanted more “due diligence” on the law firm.