The City of Bremerton installed and began collecting revenue from red-light cameras in 2008. The cameras are privatized, which means they are installed and administered by RedFlex Traffic Systems, a private corporation located in Phoenix, Arizona. The city pays RedFlex a fixed amount per year, currently that contract amount is $432,000, to have them provide the service. The city receives revenue from RedFlex in the form of an annual payment. The amount received is the amount of ticket revenue received by RedFlex in excess of the contract amount. Since this contract was enacted, the city has received the following amounts from RedFlex: $376,773 in 2008, $364,680 in 2009, $256,144 in 2011, and $138,775 in 2013. The revenue declined for 2014, to $101,751. There is an obvious trend here. At this rate the cameras will soon cost the city money, rather than bringing in revenue.

The above calculations don’t include the loss of revenue for tickets ultimately dismissed by the court, which was $134,664 in 2014, the law enforcement labor involved in reviewing every ticket which was estimated to be $134,664 in 2014, or the court staff labor required to schedule hearings on the tickets, which was an estimated $11,700 in 2014. These unaccounted for costs of this program, coupled with the significantly reducing trend noted above, call into question the fiscal responsibility of continuing to privatize our city’s law enforcement.

I also have other reservations about the red-light cameras. Bremerton is a town full of working-class families that often cannot afford a $124 ticket. Citizens who cannot afford the ticket are often the least knowledgeable about the justice system, and most likely to fall through the cracks. All too often, governments view citizens primarily as a source of revenue. However, government IS the citizens, and government exists to protect and serve the citizens, not use them as a revenue source. I am wary of replacing thinking, feeling, human police officers with the unblinking camera eye and I object to exporting Bremerton dollars to Phoenix, Arizona.

I believe that while we initially adopted this program with the best of intentions it has inadvertently harmed working families, and the validity of the ticket itself is questioned often enough that it will actually cost us to run this program in the near future. The process of a red-light camera ticket currently goes something like this: A car is captured by a camera allegedly running a red light at one of the monitored intersections; information about the infraction is received at the Bremerton Police Department. They view the ticket and if it is approved it then goes to RedFlex to authorize the ticket. The registered owner of the vehicle – not necessarily the actual driver – then receives the ticket in the mail, and has the option of paying directly to RedFlex or the Bremerton Municipal Court, or requesting a court hearing. The process is time-consuming and there have been problems with coordination of payments between RedFlex and the Bremerton Municipal Court. (If the private vendor does not inform our courts promptly, a vehicle owner may get a collection/late notice sent by the courts, even though a fine is paid in full and on time.)

When the cameras were first installed, there were two arguments in favor: revenue enhancement and public safety. According to law enforcement, the cameras DO provide a traffic-calming-safety-improvement at some of the busier intersections in town, but the privately-owned cameras have evolved from being a revenue-generator, to soon being revenue-neutral, and it is anticipated it will actually cost the City money to run the program in the short-term. In the upcoming year, I would like to have a conversation with the citizens of the city of Bremerton about how to move forward on this issue. It’s time to re-evaluate the best way to keep our citizens safe, and be good stewards of our tax dollars

Leslie Daugs, Bremerton.