The Westlake City Council moved forward Tuesday, Sept. 1 with a plan to install automated school-zone speed cameras, but only after a debate over privacy, government surveillance and whether the city had adequately documented a speeding problem.
Council members voted 5-0 on a first reading to establish the legal framework for a camera-enforcement program.
However, they postponed until their Oct. 6 meeting a proposed contract with RedSpeed Florida, pending completion of the company’s school-zone speed study, expected by the end of the month.
A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office representative said deputies recently issued 10 citations for speeding in Westlake school zones, primarily during afternoon dismissal periods. Morning congestion generally prevents vehicles from reaching excessive speeds, he said.
Vice Mayor Greg Langowski supported stronger school-zone enforcement but expressed unease about the camera surveillance.
“I understand the speed in the school zones,” Langowski said. “I’m very supportive of law enforcement and protecting against speed, but I have serious issues with data collected and what it could lead to in the future.”
The discussion came one day after the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) ordered local law enforcement agencies to remove automated license-plate readers (LPR) from state highways within 30 days. The order cited the rapid expansion of the technology, reports of misuse, and concerns about privacy and surveillance.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that license-plate-reader use is “out of control” and that Florida should not become a “surveillance state.”
RedSpeed representative Natalie Otto stressed that the proposed school-zone system records only vehicles exceeding the speed limit during school hours. However, LPR capability can be added to the system through another vendor, she said.
Otto said RedSpeed is not “building a searchable database or providing ongoing surveillance.”
Mayor JohnPaul O’Connor pointed out that LPR technology has been in the city’s long-term plans for years.
In August 2022, then-City Manager Kenneth Cassel told the council that plans were underway to install LPRs on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road at the north and south entrances to the city.
“Every license plate coming in or out of Westlake will be picked up,” Cassel said at the time. He added that when more roads, such as 60th Street North, connect to the community, cameras would be installed there as well.
Because of issues involving supplying power to the cameras, they were never installed, but O’Connor said he continues to support the concept.
“I’d still like to see it happen,” he said. “The safety of our citizens, and especially our children, is paramount.”
“What we are signing up for is not license plate readers,” current City Manager Howard Brown Jr. said Wednesday. “Though admittedly, the devices have the ability to do both, which in my mind is a value-added feature. We just need to have some guard rails… This is where technology is headed.”
Under state law, an automated speeding citation may be issued only when a vehicle exceeds the applicable limit by at least 10 miles per hour. Otto said RedSpeed sets its cameras to activate at 11 mph over the limit to account for a possible calibration variation.
The cameras would operate during the entire school day, beginning 30 minutes before classes and ending 30 minutes afterward. They would enforce the reduced limit during arrival and dismissal periods, and the regular posted limit during the remainder of the day.
“If you don’t want a ticket, don’t speed through the school zone,” O’Connor said. “It’s that simple.”
If the program receives final approval, it will begin with a 30-day warning and public-education period.
Otto said RedSpeed works with more than 20 Florida municipalities and that many of them have used a competitively bid City of Plantation contract to avoid the typical bidding process. That sort of “piggybacking” allows one government to use another agency’s competitively bid contract, thus saving time and money.
Council members also clashed over O’Connor’s proposal for the city to explore an artificial-intelligence platform offering residents round-the-clock access to government information and services.
O’Connor cited Citibot as a system that can answer common questions, route service requests and communicate in approximately 70 languages. He said the system would use only information supplied by the municipality and would free employees from answering routine questions.
“We call ourselves ‘the innovative city of Westlake’ and yet we seem to be last to the table in adopting technology that will free up staff’s time, answer our residents’ questions quickly and allow us to engage with our residents quickly at any time of the day,” he said.
O’Connor added that the technology is particularly important because of Westlake’s demographics.
“Our resident base is drastic in terms of first responders,” he said. “They don’t work the hours our offices are open. This will be a great way to get them answers to questions… at 3 o’clock or 4 o’clock in the morning.”
Councilman Gary Werner questioned why the council was apparently being asked to begin contract negotiations with Citibot before conducting an assessment of the city’s needs, available vendors and costs.
“We don’t even know if we need it,” Werner said. “We’re a young city. We don’t even have a [proper] city hall, or organizational chart.”
He said O’Connor appeared to be advocating for Citibot after introducing the company to officials from other municipalities at a recent meeting of the Palm Beach County League of Cities, where O’Connor is president.
“It has an appearance, mayor, that I don’t think is healthy,” Werner said.
O’Connor strongly denied that he was advocating for a particular company and said that he wanted Brown to examine competing platforms and return with a recommendation.
The council ultimately reached a consensus for Brown to research the technology, compare vendors and bring the matter back for a future decision.
In other business:
- The council approved a Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance proclamation, inviting residents to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
A remembrance ceremony honoring the victims and first responders will be held outside the Westlake Adventure Park Lodge, 16610 Town Center Parkway North, at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, the third annual Westlake 5K Run/Walk will get underway at 7:30 a.m., this year also focused on 9/11 remembrance. It will be held at the corner of Persimmon Blvd. and Ilex Way.
The Adventure Park event is open to Westlake residents only. However, the 5K is open to anyone who wants to participate.
- Other upcoming public meetings include: a workshop to discuss the city’s strategic plan on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 4:30 p.m.; the first public hearing on the city’s budget for fiscal year 2027 on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m.; and the final budget public hearing on Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. All will take place at the Lodge at the Westlake Adventure Park.
