Red Light Camera News Official flips his position on red-light cameras
(Thanks to www.stpetecameras.org for the link!)
Official flips his position on red-light cameras
Morris Twp.'s Snyder, who missed key meeting, says he would've voted 'no'
6:13 PM, May. 8, 2011 |
Written by
| | ROB JENNINGS | Staff Writer Filed Under News
It is unusual for a municipal issue to be resolved by a single vote.
It is more rare for the swing voter to miss the pivotal meeting because of an illness or other unforeseen circumstance.
However, that’s exactly what happened in Morris Township after committee member Raymond L. Snyder – the deciding vote on whether to authorize red-light cameras at Columbia Road and Park Avenue – underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery.
Snyder had the successful surgery one week before the April 28 meeting at which the town committee was scheduled to vote. Obviously, he was in no position to attend.
With the other committee members split 2-2 on red-light cameras, Mayor Scott Rosenbush postponed the vote. That effectively ended Morris Township’s opportunity to install a red-light camera, since the state Department of Transportation was holding firm to its May 1 deadline.
The DOT formally removed Morris Township from the statewide red-light camera program last week.
At the time, the logical assumption was that Snyder would have voted in favor of red-light cameras, and that his health crisis was the only thing standing between Morris Township and red-light cameras.
The retired Morris Township police lieutenant had voted to introduce the ordinance on April 13, just one week before his surgery. Almost always, a lawmaker who supports introducing a proposal ends up supporting its adoption.
But Snyder, speaking from his home by telephone last Tuesday, offered up a surprise. He said he was never convinced of the necessity of red-light cameras and that, in the days leading up to the April 28 meeting, he decided against supporting the ordinance.
“I would’ve been voting no,” Snyder said.
Snyder pointed out that, had his vote been needed, he could have participated in the meeting by telephone. He phoned in his votes for nearly three months after shattering his ankle in a Jan. 7 fall.
But, upon sharing his misgivings with Rosenbush, a red-light camera supporter, it became apparent that Snyder’s participation would not be necessary. The mayor then canceled the vote.
Snyder explained that, even though he voted to introduce the ordinance, he never was totally sold on red-light cameras. Yet, he said he agreed that Columbia Road and Park Avenue is virtually impossible for police to patrol, and backed the “concept of red-light cameras as an effective law-enforcement tool.”
So, what was his problem?
Snyder said that, for him, the bottom line was that the community seemed as divided as the town committee on the issue. There was no real majority sentiment either for or against red-light cameras.
“It was quite obvious that 50 percent of the people didn’t want it,” Snyder said, adding that he also had concerns about the proposed red-light camera vendor contract.
Rosenbush, reached for reaction, said he sought to assuage Snyder’s concerns but had only limited access to him in the days following his operation.
“We could not answer his questions in a timely fashion before the meeting,” Rosenbush said, explaining that the proposed contract – never finalized because of the canceled authorization vote – ultimately would not have cost the town any money.
It is remarkable that not a single red-light camera has been activated in Morris County since the five-year statewide pilot program got under way in January 2008. Morris Township was the only county municipality among 25 in the state originally accepted into the program.
Currently, red-light cameras are up and running in 15 municipalities, the DOT said last week.
Neither Hanover or Morristown, among around a dozen or so on a waiting list, were chosen to replace Morris Township.
Snyder said there is always the possibility that Morris Township might get a second chance – but that only seems likely if state lawmakers allow red-light cameras on a permanent basis when the pilot program ends in January2013.
“The intention was excellent,” Snyder said of Morris Township’s initial interest in red-light cameras.
Snyder said his wife wasn’t thrilled with him continuing to discuss local government issues while recovering.
“It’s my choice,” said Snyder, a 1964 Morristown High School graduate who was a U.S. Army sergeant before being hired, in June 1968, as a Morris Township police officer.
“You just can’t become an elected official and go into a cocoon,” he added.
Rosenbush, reflecting on the more than two years Morris Township spent debating the issue, conceded in retrospect that a speedier process would have been helpful.
The mayor added that he wasn’t inclined to second-guess the process.
“At the end of the day, it’s moot,” he said.
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