They just don't want to give up on the red-light cameras:
Both Lafayette and West Lafayette mayors said Monday they'll lobby state lawmakers to create a law authorizing municipalities to use red light cameras.
Passing a state law authorizing the use of the cameras may be the only option left for local officials who want to use the technology. Steve Carter, the state's attorney general, issued an opinion on Friday saying the legislature must create a law before municipalities can use the cameras to catch drivers who run red lights.
Both cities have placed the cameras at intersections to research how many drivers they would catch.
And it's all about creating respect for the law and catching those darn bad drivers and improving public safety. It is absolutely, positively not, not, not about all the money the cities will raise with the cameras:
In Kingsport, Tenn., for example, Redflex receives 80 percent of the ticket price ($40) for the first 95 tickets issued at each intersection approach each month. Kingsport gets the remaining $10, according to Deputy Police Chief David Quillin.
After 95 tickets, Redflex and Kingsport split the fines evenly. In addition, Kingsport gets court costs, which the city council hiked from $13.50 to $50 last year. (The increase "would have happened regardless of the cameras," Quillin said. )
For the city, the gain is from $160,000 a year pre-cameras to an estimated $1.4 million. Redflex will make about half that.
Currently, more than 300 U.S. communities have some kind of "cop cam" system, going after everybody from red-light runners, speeders and railroad-crossing jumpers. They make a ton of money for their operators and the cities they're in. Their effect on public safety remains debatable. A proposal for a statewide pilot program keeps turning up in the General Assembly, but it never passes. These two mayors think support is growing, and they have a good shot this time around, so get ready to do some kicking and screaming before the City Council. Just saying.
