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| Red lights could have village seeing green |
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When my municipality, the Village of Royal Palm Beach, was considering the adoption of an ordinance for red light cameras recently, I decided to get involved. I went to the regular council meeting and listened to my local officials praise the ordinance.
“My concern is all about safety,” said Mayor David Lodwick. Other members of the council agreed.
The proposed system will be managed by an outside company that will handle almost everything, including the capital costs of the cameras and installation. It will even have a say in selecting the locations for the cameras.
What the outside company won’t have the authority to do is decide which motorists will be penalized. That’s up to Code Enforcement. Essentially,
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MARK J. PESCATORE
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running a red light in Royal Palm Beach will be the legal equivalent of a code violation. No points on your license, just pay the fine.
Red light cameras are about changing (or at least punishing) the behavior of drivers who don’t follow the rules and put others in danger. When deployed responsibly, red light cameras work.
But they are also about money, potentially lots of it. For its part, the outside company will split the collected fines down the middle with Royal Palm Beach. First infraction: $125. Second infraction: $250. Third infraction and all others thereafter: $500.
There’s a fine line between behavior deterrence and revenue generation, and I’m not convinced a $500 fine doesn’t cross that line.
In addition, an outside company might be the most efficient way to manage a red light camera system — other municipalities have similar business arrangements. However, while I don’t know the expenses incurred by the outside company, a 50/50 split of collected fines seems very generous.
It was these concerns that I voiced to the council. While I expressed my approval of the red light camera concept, I cautioned that such a lucrative contract could raise more than a few eyebrows, and the progressive fines could be a cause for contention.
The members of the council thanked me for expressing my concerns. It felt good to participate in my local government.
The ordinance passed. Unanimously.
Mark J. Pescatore is the editor. Contact him at mpescatore@nbmedia.com.
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