Orange County politics, Red-light cameras, Teresa Jacobs — posted by David Damron on August, 22 2011 1:39 PM
Orange County leaders should reveal what kind of appetite they have for installing more red light cameras tomorrow — a decision which could put more violators on the receiving end of a $158 ticket if they get caught.

Commissioners have ten red-light running recorders in place now, but a plan to add 40 more at busy state road intersections is slated for discussion at Tuesday’s meeting. The staff plan, if approved, would eventually roll them out over the next year or so.

No vote on the issue is schedule for Tuesday, but if enough commissioners cheer it on — or grumble at the prospect — the staff plan would wither or accelerate accordingly.

While Orange County was slow to adopt the cameras, compared to other cities such as Orlando, it could soon outpace its counterparts. Orlando has backed off any aggressive new camera installations, and has added just two new ones to its network in about the last year. The City Beautiful now has 22 devices.

Former Mayor Rich Crotty was slow to embrace the devices, fearing that the cameras used to ticket motorists was not authorized in state law, and likely to snare the county in a class-action lawsuit. Lawmakers approved the devices last year, though, and soon after taking office, new Mayor Teresa Jacobs proudly unveiled the county’s system.

Tomorrow could decide whether county leaders want to step on the gas and grow their red-light camera network.
 

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