Red Light Camera News Red-Light Camera Use Divides Haines City Commission Candidates
http://www.theledger.com/article/20110328/NEWS/110329463?p=all&tc=pgall&tc=ar
Red-Light Camera Use Divides Haines City Commission Candidates
By MARY HURST
NYT REGIONAL MEDIA GROUP
Published: Monday, March 28, 2011 at 8:21 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, March 28, 2011 at 8:21 p.m.
HAINES CITY | Red-light cameras and city government's attitude toward residents and business are the main issues separating the two candidates for the City Commission in Haines City's April 5 municipal election.
Incumbent Phillip Hinkle faces challenger Don Mason for the four-year, at-large seat. It is the only seat open on the five-member commission.
Hinkle sees the red-light cameras as a safety issue and said the city has become more business friendly, although more needs to be done.
Mason said the city's government is out of touch with residents and businesses, and cites the red-light camera controversy as a prime example.
Hinkle, 49, said he would like to serve another term to finish the projects he deems priorities for the city. The executive director of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association has been on the commission since 1998.
His priorities include the red-light cameras, which he strongly supports.
"I had no idea that we'd get 4,000 to 5,000 straight-through violators in a six-week period," he said. "That's astronomical." (BAN THE CAMS NOTE: Do you notice that Hinkle DOESN'T mention how many of those "violations" occured under a second?????? Funny eh! I wonder how he would look in front of the citizens if someone files a FOIA and gets a hold of those "violations" and finds out that 90% were under 1 second or less! There is a reason longer ambers work! (and why scamera companies don't want longer ambers like HB 149) Without knowing what KIND of "violations" (like under a second) his claims are meaningless.
Some residents have accused the city of putting in the cameras to earn revenue but Hinkle denies that.
"The intent of the cameras were to enforce the red lights on U.S. 27," he said. "It is a safety issue. It was never intended to be a money maker."
He's hoping to see a decline in the number of violators, which did happen in the second month the cameras were in operation.
"But we want people to know that the city means business and drivers need to stop at that red light," Hinkle said.
Since he joined the commission 13 years ago, he said, the city has made progress. As examples, he listed the city's design of the U.S. 27 corridor with zoning and landscaping requirements, downtown redevelopment that includes the new city hall and library, the city's fiscal strength even through an economic downturn, an annexation push to expand the tax base and the Lake Eva Park improvements.
He said he would like to see more business and industry come to Haines City.
The building permit process has been expedited, he said, and anyone having a roadblock set up can come to him or any of the commissioners for help.
"I'm an advocate of streamlining this process," he said.
But his opponent doesn't find the city very business friendly.
Mason, 52, owns apartments and warehouses in Haines City, Winter Haven and Lake Alfred. He's lived in Haines City for 39 years and is a Haines City High School graduate.
He said a big issue in Haines City is the red-light cameras, though it is just one example of a city management that has lost sight that it works for the people.
"I would want to see it more business- and citizen-friendly," he said. "The environment in this city over the past five or six years has gotten to the point what it's dictatorial."
He listed Code Enforcement and the Community Development departments as examples.
"We're not Orlando or West Palm Beach or we'd be living there," he said. "We're a small town and we've lost our small-town feel."
Returning to the red-light camera issue, he said he watches people struggle to pay their bills and rent.
"It's tough on them," he said. "You can understand if a police officer pulls you over, but getting a ticket from a camera taking your picture?"
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