City Council meets with suppliers of red-light cameras

Last Modified: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 9:33 p.m.

After hearing from five red light traffic system vendors at Tuesday's workshop meeting, the Ocala City Council still has questions it hopes will be answered through the bidding process.

The council is exploring contracting for services from a company that would photograph and/or videotape cars that run red traffic lights. In most cases, the companies own and maintain the camera equipment, review the film and send photos of those they believe have run the red light to local police for verification.

Once it receives police approval, the company tracks down the car owner - not the driver - and sends them a citation and collects a fine. It would be a civil, not criminal, violation and there would be no points on a license. The company then splits the amount collected with the city, based on an agreed-upon percentage.

Representatives from American Traffic Solutions, Redflex Traffic Systems, Gatso, LaserCraft and Traffipax attended Tuesday's meeting to answer questions.

But because no bids have been submitted, the council limited vendor comments to those of a nonproprietary nature.

Because they could not be specific, the vendors asked the council to examine carefully bid proposal requests, especially the technology and the partnership relationship.

German Medina, regional sales manager for Redflex, withdrew from the process - saying that because the Florida Legislature did not pass House Bill 439 authorizing the state Department of Transportation to administer a red light program allowing counties and cities to enforce traffic control systems using the detectors, his company was no longer writing contracts in Florida.

Medina said that in 2005, then-Attorney General Charlie Crist opined that it was illegal.

"It's our understanding that statement still stands," Medina said. "We can't take that liability."

Outside council chambers, Medina said state law requires that a moving violation citation be issued by a police officer. He said some companies are taking a position that if a city passes an ordinance allowing the red light system - and Ocala has passed such an ordinance - that will work.

"It probably will," Medina said.

But it is his company's position that, because state law supersedes local law, if people fight the tickets they could win in court by saying a police officer did not write the tickets. Then people could sue the city for taking illegal pictures of their vehicles, illegally matching their license plates and giving them a ticket.

"That happened in Minnesota," Medina said, where there was a class action suit.

"We lost $17.2 million," he said.

Rick Larson, senior solution sales specialist for Lasercraft, disagreed.

"There's no law so, therefore, it's not against the law," Larson said about Florida.

Councilman Daniel Owen expressed concern that, eventually, the red light system would require more officers and impact the city's budget.

"This is funded on behavior right now," Owen said about vendors making money from people running red lights. "It's all funded on people breaking the law."

Owen also said he did not want to spend taxpayer money on lawsuits.

Councilman Charles Ruse Jr. wants the cameras for public safety. He said he did not believe it would take long for police to look at photographs. He said any money the city earns could be put in reserve in the event there is a lawsuit, which would keep the city from getting "addicted" to having the money to spend on other items.

Ruse said he recently saw a semi truck and a Marion County sheriff's deputy running a light on Silver Springs Boulevard.

"Wouldn't you want to send Sheriff Dean a photo of that?" Ruse said. "I'd like to be on the selection committee."

Mayor Randy Ewers said the council, if it is concerned about the program expanding, may wish to have an exit strategy.

Councilman Kent Guinn said the companies will have to have a minimum cash flow to make it profitable and was concerned about what would happen if the number of violations drops.

Ocala Police Deputy Chief Rodney Smith said the city issued 203 citations over the last five years for running red lights. He said there are about 300 crashes a month, many at intersections.

"We can't man all the intersections with manpower," Smith said.


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