Smile for the camera

Moses Lake made $101,000 from red-light cameras

MOSES LAKE - About 264 times last month, someone pulled into the intersection of Valley and Stratford roads when the light was red.

This triggered a camera, which took a 12-second video and three pictures of the car breezing through the intersection. Once the pictures and video are processed, each of those drivers received a $112 citation in the mail.

Drivers paid $248,000 since the cameras were set up in March 2007. After paying police officers to review the photos and videos and paying the company which runs the lights, the city made about $101,000, according to city records.

Now Tim Eyman wants that money to go to the state. Tucked into section 11 of Initiative 985 is a requirement that any profits from red-light traffic cameras will go into a state fund to synchronize traffic lights, open carpool lanes during peak hours, provide increased roadside assistance and any other method to improve traffic flow.

In response to the initiative, Wenatchee halted its plans for a red-light camera program. Mayor Dennis Johnson stated to the press the goal wasn't to make money, but without the revenue from the program the city lost its incentive to put up cameras.

Unlike Wenatchee, the Moses Lake cameras will stay up if the initiative passes. City Manager Joe Gavinski said the city didn't install the lights to make a profit.

"If we have to pass (the additional revenue) to the state, then so be it," he said. "(The cameras are a) relatively inexpensive way of monitoring these intersections."

The cameras might stay up, but the loss of revenue could impact the city, Gavinski said the extra money went to hiring a police officer this year.

"The money has gone into the police department," he said. "If we don't have the revenue from the light we may not be able to retain the officer."

Moses Lake Finance Director Ron Cone said the initiative could cause a headache for the finance office because it isn't clear what amount would be paid to the state fund.

"If we are billed $20,000 and my collections are $9,000, I'm in the hole," he said. "(Eyman has) created more cotton-picking problems with his initiatives."

Drivers can contest the tickets in Municipal court, Police Chief Dean Mitchell said. If they weren't driving the vehicle or were not at the wheel then they can sign an affadavit to get out of the ticket. The cameras can't take a picture of the driver because it's illegal in Washington.

"The vast majority of people just pay the ticket," he said. "When we go to court we have the video and the photographs."

If someone doesn't pay the ticket it then goes to a collection company. Gavinski said it hadn't gone past that, but according to state law if someone chooses to ignore the court they could lose their license.

"Sending it to collections can be pretty nasty," he said.

On top of the collection issue, Cone said he'd been lenient on what he'd taken out of the revenue.

"I'm going to start putting everything I can against the total," he said. "It'd probably be $97,000 if you start through everything."

Mitchell agreed with Gavinski that the objective of the cameras is to increase safety at the intersections. When the cameras were put in there was a spike, and it hit a high of 544 citations in August 2007. The numbers steadily dropped between then and it's low of 86 citations in May 2008.

"It's doing what it's supposed to be doing. It's reducing red-light infractions," he said "Hopefully there'll be none one day."

The dip in infractions was short-lived, with the numbers rebounding back to 264 tickets last month.

"It seems to be cyclic," Cone said.