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City should look before it leaps at system for snowplows  

     Many old-timers can remember catching frogs, as kids, by wrapping a little piece of aluminum foil around the end of a string and dangling it over a box. The frogs, enthralled by the shiny object, would leap at the foil and land in the box.  

   We expect our government officials to be a little smarter than frogs when shiny objects are dangled in front of them, and not to be so quick to leap.  

   So it is with Schenectady city officials and a  proposal to enter a contract to install shiny new GPS computer technology into snowplows and garbage trucks, with the promise of making the city’s snow and trash removal operations more efficient and presumably less costly.

   We’re all in favor of making government more efficient, and technology is a great way to accomplish that. And we understand that snow removal and trash pickup are significant expenses for the city. Not only do those vehicles have to cover 180 miles of city streets, they also have to be fueled and maintained. There may indeed be money to save, and finding it would be a blessing for city taxpayers.

   But before leaping at a plan by Transfinder to equip 30 to 40 city vehicles with computer GPS and maintenance monitoring devices (along with investing in the accompanying equipment and computer monitors to track the vehicles and the systems), city officials need to ask a lot of questions to determine whether the savings will justify the investment.

   First off, how does the city know its plowing and trash pickup is inefficient enough to need a big fix? And if so, how bad is it? The city has been plowing streets for, what, 100 years in some form or another? How much room for error is there? Could an expert on urban snow removal look at what the city is doing each year and suggest more efficient ways to do it, without the city making a major investment in software? What about first talking to public works officials in cities like Albany, Troy, Syracuse, Utica and Buffalo about how they save expenses?  

   The city could find that its problems are an easy fix, or that its fleet is simply too small to realize significant savings from an expensive computer system.

   Another issue with this is that the city doesn’t know how much equipment it needs and how much it will cost, either in the initial investment or in the monthly fees on the devices. Anyone who has a service contract for their smartphone knows how quickly costs can add up.

   We need to see exact figures from the company about the total cost, as well as an analysis of how much it expects to save the city.  
  
   So far, this is Transfinder’s first foray into the snow and trash business, with its existing business focusing largely on school bus runs. Are the two operations comparable, and exactly how?  

   When the city of Albany contracted with a private company to install red-light cameras at various intersections, it got a break-even clause written into the contract to ensure taxpayers wouldn’t lose money on the deal. Is that a possibility here? Is it being explored?  

   While it’s always positive to hire a local company    — Transfinder is located on State Street — there are other companies out there that perform the same service.  

   Big-winter states like New Jersey and Illinois are among those that use GPS and interactive mapping in their statewide snow-removal efforts. Some systems that are available use apps and the cloud to cut down on the need for equipment, and they connect to a website so that even residents can monitor the locations of plows and garbage trucks.  

   Wouldn’t it be a good idea for the city to put out a request for proposals from some of those companies and set up a bidding system to try to get the best price possible?  


   Another issue that’s been raised has been monitoring and maintenance of equipment. For instance, city officials say plows are wasting fuel by idling too long.  

   Can’t excessive idling be limited simply by telling drivers to turn off their trucks if they’re not going to be moving for an extended period of time? As for maintenance information about vehicles, doesn’t the city hire mechanics with their own electronic devices to look after the trucks and keep them in top mechanical shape?  

   It’s very tempting for government to join the technological revolution when there’s a chance to save taxpayers money. And if this proposal can be a viable resource, then the city should explore it.  

   But before leaping at the first piece of aluminum foil they see dangling in front of them, city leaders need to do a lot more homework on this issue so they know exactly what they're leaping at.  

   Otherwise, they’re just going to lure taxpayers into an expensive trap they can’t get out of.

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Otherwise, they’re just going to lure taxpayers into an expensive trap they can’t get out of.