NEWBERG, Ore. — The City of Newberg has terminated its contract with Elovate (formerly Conduent), the company responsible for implementing the city’s traffic camera system, citing delays and data errors.
Get These Stories First, Right in your Inbox
We send out a FREE weekly newsletter featuring the previous week’s biggest stories, upcoming events, and other local happenings. Our email newsletter is the first to know!
According to Newberg-Dundee Police Department Sgt. Eric Ronning, the cancellation stemmed in part from significant delays in project implementation, which far exceeded the original timeline provided by Elovate.
The city installed red-light cameras in October, and they became operational in early November. After a 30-day grace period—during which drivers received warnings but no citations—the cameras were fully activated.
However, during a Jan. 21 City Council meeting, City Manager Will Worthey revealed that the red light and speed traffic camera at Villa Road and Oregon 99W was no longer functioning.
Worthey said poor connectivity between the camera and the cabinet’s technology contributed to the early complications. Additional delays occurred due to prolonged wiring installation, issues with concrete slab pouring, and faulty testing, which prevented the system from capturing clear images.
The city also identified significant errors in citation data provided by Elovate. According to Worthey, data packets were often incomplete, missing legally required details such as addresses, or arriving as unreadable text. Some citations even originated from outside jurisdictions, including Multnomah County and Florida.
After discovering the issues, the city issued a 30-day notice for Elovate to correct the errors, but the company failed to do so.
While Worthey emphasized that the cameras were primarily intended to improve traffic safety for commuters entering town, the discussion arose during budget talks due to lost revenue. The city’s 2024-25 adopted budget projected $250,000 in revenue from the cameras for the general fund.
According to City of Newberg interim public information officer Emily Salsbury, the city did not pay to install the cameras. Rather, per the contract, the future revenue from the citations would be directed to paying for the installation.
The contract was officially terminated on Jan. 31. According to Ronning, the city is now evaluating its next steps, including the possibility of issuing a new request for proposals to find a vendor capable of successfully implementing the program.
Elovate did not respond to requests for comment.
Support Local Journalism
Stories like this are only possible with support from readers like you! Your contributions go to enabling free, engaging, informative community journalism and the most comprehensive events calendar in the Newberg-Dundee area.
Update Feb. 27, 2025: added information about the installation costs from City of Newberg
