Red Light Camera News Vero Beach puts stop on red-light cameras
Ban the Cams note:
While Vero Beach wisely puts stop to RLC. Miami-Dade is about to use their motorists as a ATM cards.
Ban the Cams note II: Thanks to NMA news link www.motorists.org for the link
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/nov/10/vero-beach-puts-red-light-cameras-on-indefinite/
Vero Beach puts stop on red-light cameras
By Ed Bierschenk
TCPalm
Posted November 10, 2010 at 7:41 a.m., updated November 10, 2010 at 10:08 a.m.
VERO BEACH — Police Chief Don Dappen has decided to put on indefinite hold a proposal to have cameras installed at some city intersections to catch motorists running through red lights.
Dappen based his decision on the election of new City Council members, some of whom voiced opposition to the cameras during the campaign.
Dappen said he believed the council members have a full mix of other issues they want to deal with instead. If they decide they ultimately want to go forward with the cameras, they can notify the city manager and Dappen will bring the issue back to them.
Interim City Manager Monte Falls agreed the city will “pull it off the table” unless the council says it wants to discuss the red-light cameras.
Mayor Jay Kramer said he tends to agree with Indian River County Commissioner Gary Wheeler, who once served as Indian River County’s sheriff, that the cameras as primarily a money-maker.
Kramer also said he doesn’t think the cameras have been proven to improve safety.
In addition, Kramer agreed with Dappen that the council has a lot of other things on its plate, primarily getting electric rates reduced.
Dappen still believes the cameras are worthwhile and their use would allow the department, which has been reduced in staff the past few years, to patrol more intersections.
Dappen does not disagree that the cameras are revenue producers, saying his primary goal in bringing the idea forward was to improve safety.
At least one new council member, Craig Fletcher, has spoken in favor of the red-light cameras during the campaign. Fletcher called the cameras “truly a safety issue” and said any concern could be avoided by simply obeying the law and stopping at the intersections.
The prior council was split on the issue, with former Councilman Ken Daige and the lone returning council member Brian Heady opposed to the cameras.
Dappen first brought the idea of red light cameras to the council in January of 2009. In February of that year, the council unanimously approved an ordinance allowing for the installation of the devices.
In June, 2009, the city signed a contract with American Traffic Solutions, which would provide cameras at perhaps four or five intersections. The fines were to be $150, with the city receiving the bulk of the money and the rest going to the company.
At the time there was no state law allowing for the cameras. Rather than issuing traffic tickets, cities using the cameras were issuing citations for code violations to people caught running red lights.
Legal challenges were brought against the practice and Vero Beach held off installing the cameras until the issues could be resolved.
This May, Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation authorizing municipalities, counties and the state to install “traffic infraction detectors” and to allow fines of $158 per offense, with the money split between the state and county or municipality where the violation happened. The city would receive $75 per ticket.
The new legislation required some revisions to be made in the city’s contract with American Traffic Solutions because it appeared to prohibit paying a fee to the company based on the number of tickets issued. Instead, a proposal was put forth in which the company would charge a flat fee per camera of $4,750 a month. There was concern from some quarters about the financial impact on the city if the ticket revenue did not cover the cost of the cameras. Assistant City Attorney Wayne Coment and Dappen, however, said the company agreed to forgive any amount owed that exceeded what was recovered from ticket revenue.
Dappen, however, decided to hold off on bringing the issue back right away because the elections were close at hand.
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