Red Light Camera News Residents Pack Council Meeting to SAY NO TO RLC! SATELLITE BEACH, FL
(Ban the Cams would like to thank www.stpetecameras.org for the link!)
Satellite Beach rejects use of traffic-light cameras
City council fears too many 'unknowns'
BY R. NORMAN MOODY • FLORIDA TODAY • February 3, 2011
SATELLITE BEACH — When the city council decided it was going to discuss whether it should install red light cameras, the issue raised concerns from residents.
Additional chairs had to be brought in to accommodate more than 50 residents who showed up for Wednesday night's council meeting at city hall.
The council decided by consensus to not move forward with the measure.
Councilman Jeffrey Fleis said he did not think the cameras were the answer for Satellite Beach.
"As a deterrent, I think they work," he said. "I'm not in favor of it. There are too many unknowns."
Councilman Michael Chase said, "I'm in favor of the concept, but I don't have all the facts."
Major Joseph Ferrante said that when he was running for office, he did a survey asking residents what should be done to make up for lower revenues coming in from property taxes. He said assessments are down and are expected to be 17 percent lower this year.
The choices on the survey were raising taxes, cutting services or looking for alternate sources of revenues.
"Overwhelmingly, alternate sources of revenue came to the top," Ferrante said. The council decided to look at other possibilities.
"I think they did a thoughtful assessment," said A.J. Rice, a 48-year resident of the city who said she was against the installation of red light cameras. "I think they did the right thing."
Other issues will likely go to the city manager for additional work before they come back to the city council.
Items for further consideration include:
Whether to have cell phone towers on city property or antennas on existing high structures for which the cell phone companies would pay a fee.
Charge for permits for bonfires on the beach.
Change fees for the cost of fire inspection and follow-up inspections and look further into a two-tier pension for police and firefighters, including to see what the Florida Legislature does with the issue.
City Manager Michael Crotty said the city needed to look at what to do about the revenue shortfall from property taxes. He said a committee of nine residents worked for about four months to come up with ideas for the council.
"We're just looking at their recommendations," he said.
Contact Moody at 321-242-3651 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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