When Garland forceably led the state and installed the first red light cameras, we only installed four (three initially). The fines generated from those installations quickly dazzled some that looked at the dollars and promptly forgot the intended purpose of the cameras. Suddenly pet projects could be financed without regard to tax increases and voter outcry (as long as sound economic management could be ignored).

A majority on the Council almost two years ago decided to purchase and operate a helicopter with the money from the red light cameras. Never mind that the money stream was very volatile and uncertain. Never mind that the four cameras were not enough to pay for the program even with the fines that were pouring in. Their answer: ignore the first and raise the number of the second.

The Council to which I was elected last year cancelled the helicopter and approved only one-time uses for the funds. I warned during the election campaign that the legislature was very likely to kill the cameras or take part of the money. Those with dollars signs in their eyes were quick to say I was wrong.

During the last legislative session, several bills were introduced to kill the cameras. The Legislature chose instead to take half the money.

Part of the budget considerations now underway is setting a budget for the cameras. As I've reported, fines paid have dropped dramatically. (Which is good—it means you are far less likely to be t-boned by someone running a red light.) Forecasts project that we will soon be unable to even cover expenses. To avoid subsidizing the program, we will soon decommission five cameras, leaving those that have the highest infraction rates.

Ironically, other cities have followed Garland's lead by installing cameras but most don't seem to have paid attention to what happens when they actually accomplish the job for which they were intended. The Dallas Morning News carries a story today that summarizes well where the program started and the point to which it has progressed.

As red-light camera trend picks up, law set to change

Cities say violations down, but revenue too; now state to get a cut

 

09:08 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 29, 2007
By THEODORE KIM / The Dallas Morning News
tkim@dallasnews.com

 

Dallas-area motorists may be among the most photographed in the nation as local cities over the last 18 months have installed nearly 150 cameras designed to catch red-light runners.

 

In the four years since Garland became the first Texas city to use the cameras, nearly 20 local communities have followed suit with the aim of making intersections safer. At least seven more, including Fort Worth, plan to set up cameras soon. So by early next year, there will be more than 200 cameras watching North Texas intersections – double the number in New York City. Dallas, with 60 cameras, has nearly twice as many as Los Angeles.

 

JIM MAHONEY/DMN A red light camera has been placed on the southeast corner of the Jupiter Road and Forest Lane intersection in Garland.

But as the push for red-light cameras continues, area cities are bracing for significant changes in Texas law starting Saturday that will divert to the state some of the fees collected from violators. Other alterations to the law, local officials say, could hinder municipalities from penalizing motorists who fail to pay their fines.

 

"If you're going to give cities the ability to make laws, you've got to give them the authority to enforce the law," said state Rep. Jim Jackson, R-Carrollton, who was one of seven House members to vote against the changes. "We'll have to see how it plays out. But I think we did go too far in restricting the cities."

 

Some cities also are finding that the technology comes with financial downsides, a reality at odds with the perception that the cameras mean a government windfall.

 

Randall Dunning, a former member of the Garland City Council who strongly opposes red-light cameras, said he predicted years ago that Garland would eventually have to shrink or subsidize its program as revenues fell short of expectations.

 

"I think it's a warning for all these other jurisdictions," Mr. Dunning said. "Great is going to be the fall of this thing."

 

They work, cities say
Law enforcement officials and local policymakers from Dallas to Denton cite a battery of statistics as evidence that the cameras – and the $75 civil fines for violations – are working.

 

Denton, which put six cameras at four intersections, has reported a 68 percent drop in red-light violations at those locations. Farmers Branch saw a 34 percent decline in accidents at intersections equipped with cameras. Frisco reports a 27 percent reduction.

 

Some studies and opposition groups have questioned the effectiveness of the cameras. And a Federal Highway Administration study found that while the number of severe broadside collisions fell, rear-end crashes increased by 15 percent.

 

But of the more than 200 municipalities in 23 states and the District of Columbia that have installed some form of the technology, most have charted significant drops in violations and serious accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and interviews with other traffic experts.

 

"There's no question that drivers become much more law-abiding," said Richard A. Retting, a senior transportation engineer at the Insurance Institute. "People don't like to get tickets. That's what it comes down to."

 

As red-light cameras progress from grand experiment to mainstream technology, officials have intensified their scrutiny of the penalties involved, as well as where the revenue goes.

 

Texas legislators were poised to ban the cameras outright after hearing complaints from constituents peeved over privacy.

 

Yet rather than eliminate cameras, lawmakers required that cities split any profits from the cameras with the state, which has earmarked that money for trauma care. Cities can face stiff fines if they don't comply.

 

THE RULES A new state law governing red-light cameras takes effect Saturday. The law: Caps civil fines for red-light camera violations at $75. Allows cities to use red-light camera revenue to purchase, install and operate cameras but requires that any leftover profits be split 50/50 with the state. Allows cities to spend profits only on public safety and traffic programs, while the state's profits go to trauma care in the region where the money was collected. Prohibits cities with newly established red-light camera programs from reporting unpaid violations to credit bureaus. Instead, those cities can work with state and county officials to block car registrations for people who don't pay their tickets. * Requires studies before and after installation of red-light cameras to gauge whether cameras are necessary and effective. * Cities that signed contracts for their red-light camera programs before Saturday can continue to report unpaid tickets to credit bureaus. Source: Senate Bill 1119, www.capitol.state.tx.us

The point is to ensure that cities use red-light cameras as a public safety tool and not a cash cow, said Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee Chairman John Carona, R-Dallas.

 

"If we believe motorists are being abused, I would have no hesitation to re-enter this debate," he said. "No one wants to see an abusive Big Brother. If motorists are ticketed in an overly aggressive fashion, no doubt we'll revisit this."

 

The new law also changes the powers that cities have to pursue delinquent payments.

 

Now, cities can report overdue fines to credit bureaus. Beginning Saturday, the state will prohibit cities that sign new red-light camera contracts from doing so.

 

As an alternative, the law will allow municipalities, with the help of the county and state, to block vehicle registrations.

 

State and local officials, however, have yet to figure out a system to block registrations, and appear far from doing so.

 

While Texas transportation officials say they stand ready to flag offenders' registration records, officials in Dallas and Collin counties said they have talked little with the state about how the bureaucracy will work.

 

"I doubt that we're going to be doing anything by Sept. 1," said David Childs, Dallas County's tax assessor-collector. "I have yet to hear from any city contacting us about trying to help them enforce it."

 

The new law allows cities that have already signed red-light contracts to continue reporting delinquent citations to credit bureaus, said Shelley Franklin, administrator for Garland's red-light camera program. So Garland will continue to report unpaid tickets to credit bureaus, at least for now.

 

Blocking registrations eventually could be a more effective way to collect fines, Ms. Franklin said. But making that happen will take time, she said.

 

In Plano, police Lt. Jeff Wise said the city will stop reporting people to credit bureaus but will continue to refer unpaid tickets to collection agencies.

 

Lt. Wise said about 85 percent of Plano's red-light camera citations are paid on time. Those determined not to pay, he said, will find their car registrations blocked someday, if not immediately.

 

"Eventually, it'll catch up to them," Lt. Wise said.

 

The changes in state law will make it more difficult for municipalities to maintain red-light cameras, each of which can cost between $3,800 and $8,000 a month to maintain.

 

Costs are an issue in Garland, which generated more than $1 million in fines when the cameras were introduced.

 

Officials say the initiative there is a victim of its own success: As violations have fallen because of the cameras, so, too, have the revenues used to sustain the cameras.

 

The city generated about $1.3 million in 2004, the program's first full year of operation. Last year, Garland collected $546,599 in fines – barely enough to pay the vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., its fee and cover staff costs.

 

Cutting back to stay afloat
Garland plans to decommission five of its 12 cameras, move three others to busier intersections and eliminate its program manager to keep the expensive program afloat.

 

"We are at the break-even point now," Ms. Franklin, who holds the position being eliminated.

 

When the program was flush with cash, city officials had contemplated using the extra money to buy a police helicopter. Officials are now glad the city held back.

 

"Clearly, we would be in a big budget shortfall," said council member Laura Perkins Cox. She said she would be open to scrapping the program altogether if the cameras start losing money.

 

University Park, which began collecting red-light camera fines in February, anticipated a slew of citations when it installed cameras at two of its busiest intersections along Lovers Lane: at Preston Road and at Dickens Avenue.

 

Through July, the two intersections combined have averaged about 50 citations per month, far short of expectations. And the program, according to University Park police Capt. Leon Holman, had run up a $39,000 deficit.

 

Russ Rader, an Insurance Institute spokesman, said the plummeting red-light revenue in places like Garland and University Park is a sign that drivers are finding the brakes.

 

He urged cities to continue their programs regardless of the cost.

 

"Communities use tax dollars to fund all kinds of safety systems like traffic lights and guardrails on highways," Mr. Rader said. "Those are not expected to generate revenue. Why should red-light camera programs? If it's an important safety program, then the cities should be happy to fund them."

 

Capt. Holman says of University Park, "The city did not go into the project to make money, but I think they didn't intend on losing any money either."

 

Staff writers Richard Abshire, Jake Batsell and Wendy Hundley contributed to this report.

 

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