Article content

Mattawa is considering electronic monitoring of its municipal vehicle fleet and council is reviewing costs and whether the move will help reduce the municipal insurance bill.

Article content

“We are looking for a fleet management solution for the Town of Mattawa,” explained Dexture Sarrazin, Mattawa Community Services Director.

Fleet management involves telematics, a technology that uses the global positioning system and other sensors to collect data about vehicles, equipment and other assets. Dashboard cameras also often play a role in management.

Currently, one vehicle from the city’s fleet is participating in this telematics test: the construction and bylaw enforcement vehicle. The company providing the test unit is Fleet Complete, a partner of Telus Communication, Sarrazin pointed out.

The municipality has 13 vehicles in its fleet.

“We are working with our insurance provider to see what types of discounts are available for integrating telematics,” Sarrazin said, noting that the estimated cost for installing and monitoring the fleet equipment would be around $20 to $25 per month per vehicle. about $3,120 per year for the low end.

Article content

Vehicle monitoring could also help deter theft, Sarrazin added, and help recover stolen municipal property. The telematics system could also monitor mileage, gas mileage and other fleet information. This data could save a lot of staff time, Sarrazin pointed out, because currently the information “takes up between 10 and 20 hours a week” of staff time. A printout detailing each vehicle’s usage from the telematics machine could make this data entry task even easier.

“I like it,” enthused Mayor Raymond Bélanger, adding that he looked forward to receiving more information on the proposed project in due course.

Councilor Mathew Gardiner suggests that if the costs are reasonable and the council gives the green light to fleet monitoring, it should also create a policy to regulate the practice. The Council agrees with this. Mayor Bélanger emphasized that “once you have a policy, your staff is aware” of everything related to surveillance.

Article content

The mayor also noted that he detected some “hesitancy” among councilors, adding that this hesitation may come from the idea that “we’re afraid of trying to catch someone.” Let’s look at things from a different perspective,” he insisted, “as we try to protect them.”

“Rolling stock is expensive,” adds Sarrazin. “We want to ensure our assets are protected and managed without significant impact on staff. The increasing cost of insurance is forcing us to look for creative ways to help reduce risk. Telematics allows us to automate part of this work.

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter working for BayToday, a Village Media publication. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Article content