Wilmington’s red-light cameras will likely survive in next year’s city budget. But they still face possible elimination at the state level. City council members have said they support the program, which was included as a possible cutback in a March budget presentation. The SafeLight program, which operates red-light cameras at 13 locations in Wilmington, costs the city around $250,000 a year, said Don Bennett, the city traffic engineer. That includes in-kind costs of staff time, Bennett said. The city pays a vendor, American Traffic Solutions Inc. of Arizona, which manages the camera data and mails the tickets. Drivers whose license plates are captured on the cameras are mailed a $50 citation. In 2011, the city issued 21,631 citations based on the program. While the cameras cost the city money, they are a boon to the New Hanover County Schools. The school system got about $700,000 from the program last year, said Mary Hazel Small, the district’s chief finance officer. Still, the cameras are under attack by some members of the N.C. General Assembly. A bill that would outlaw the cameras has passed the Senate but has not yet made it onto the floor of the House. Sen. Don East, a Pilot Mountain Republican, is the bill’s primary sponsor. The bill, which was passed by the Senate in April 2011, has sat in a House committee since June, where it is “resting quietly,” East said.
by
Julian March & Pressley Baird,
(WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS)
( 4/25/12)
