At the Mayor and City Council Regular Session meeting for the City of Hapeville on March 1, 2022, Altumint, formerly known as Optotraffic, gave a presentation before Mayor Hallman and City Council.  The representative for the company briefly discussed the company structure, technology used, the parameters of the speed detection cameras, and the protocol for citations and appeals of citations.

In summary, the representative said:

• Altumint “makes all of [their] own equipment”, installs their own equipment and has their own technicians and call center employees.
• Altumint is headquartered in College Park, Maryland, with a satellite office in Doraville, Georgia.
• Altumint issues red light and speed citations at over ten (10) miles per hour over the speed limit and has issued over 6 million citations in five (5) states.
• Altumint operates under O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18: enforcement of speed limit in school zones with recorded images; civil monetary penalty; vehicle registration and transfer of title restrictions for failure to pay penalty.
• The civil penalty under Georgia law is $75 for the first violation, $125 for subsequent violation(s) (made payable to the governing body of the law enforcement agency) and a $25 administrative fee (made payable to Altumint).
• Under O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18(g) and (i), Altumint may refer unpaid civil penalties to the Department of Revenue within thirty (30) days from the date of the citation, the Department of Revenue shall enter the referral into the motor vehicle database within five (5) days of receipt, and the Department of Revenue shall refuse to renew the registration of any motor vehicle and shall prohibit title transfers of said motor vehicle within the state.
• Under O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18(b)(3)(A) and (B), a motor vehicle owner found in violation must either testify under oath in open court or submit to the court a sworn, notarized statement that he or she was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or present to the court a certified copy of a police report if the vehicle was reported stolen prior the time of the violation.
• The King Arnold Street speed camera utilizes a “LIDAR-based system.”  LIDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging.  The King Arnold Street speed camera uses 2 laser beams per lane for a total of 4 laser beams.
• Altumint provides photographically recorded images to the Hapeville Police Department, together with metric information, and a sworn law enforcement officer signs each citation after review.
• Altumint is responsible for mailing all citations and all underlying documentary evidence.
• The speed camera calibrates up to three (3) times per day and will “not operate that day” if the speed camera fails a calibration.
• Per Altumint’s metrics, the mean speed in November 2020 was 25.4 miles per hour.  The mean speed for February 2022 was 22.4 miles per hour.
• Per Altumint’s metrics, the 85th percentiles speed in November 2020 was 33.4 miles per hour.  The 85th percentiles speed in February 2022 was 29.4 miles per hour.
• The speed camera is only operational one hour before school begins, one hour after school ends, and only during seasons when school is in session.
• Altumint will put a citation “in limbo” or “holding pattern” upon timely receipt of a dispute or appeal, but has not yet successfully transmitted information to the Clerk of Court of the City of Hapeville for calendaring or docketing administrative hearings.
• Altumint has issued “north of 30,000” citations just on King Arnold Street, with approximately eighty (80) citations currently being appealed and, to date, neither Altumint nor the Clerk of Court of the City of Hapeville have scheduled any administrative hearing dates.

WE THE UNDERSIGNED RESIDENTS OF HAPEVILLE ATTEST:

1. The King Arnold Street speed camera program operated by Altumint lacks sufficient governmental oversight, inasmuch as citations “in limbo” and requesting administrative hearings have not been provided to the Clerk of Court of the City of Hapeville to be calendared or docketed, the metrics and calibration technology used by Altumint have not been provided to the City of Hapeville, and the “independent” third-party company overseeing the annual calibration technology and relationship thereto have not been disclosed to the public.
2. The King Arnold Street speed camera program operated by Altumint lacks sufficient notice and due process, inasmuch as (i) some residents of the City of Hapeville have not received the citation within the required sixty (60) day window, (ii) some residents have sent an appeal First Class Certified Mail to the address provided on the citation within the required thirty (30) day window, but were denied an administrative hearing because Altumint in their sole discretion determined that the appeal arrived late, and (iii) some residents were required to spend money, time and resources that they might not have had in order to prove their innocence to a non-governmental company.
3. The King Arnold Street speed camera program operated by Altumint lacks sufficient scientific accuracy, inasmuch as some residents’ speed have been clocked using Altumint’s technology over a reasonable or inaccurate amount (e.g., one elderly resident was clocked in excess of 80 miles per hour).  Altumint dismissed the aforesaid citation, but did not provide an excuse or documentary evidence as to why the speed camera detection was inaccurate.  Another resident has claimed to have received a citation dated on Labor Day (which is not a day when school is in session).

WE THE UNDERSIGNED RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF HAPEVILLE PRAY FOR RELIEF:

1. For the Mayor and City Council to review the city’s contract with the company, Altumint (formerly known as Optotraffic).
2. For a consideration and action to adjudicate the program in the areas where the program is substandard or insufficient or, if applicable, terminate the city’s contract with the aforesaid company if the Mayor and City Council determine in their joint and reasonable discretion that the aforesaid company is in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-14-18, or is otherwise not appropriate.
3. For such other equitable relief as the City of Hapeville deems just and proper.