Jury: Camera income overlooked

Marisa O’Neil

Red-light cameras can help reduce accidents at intersections, but

cities need a better way to track the revenue they generate,

according to a grand jury report released Tuesday.

That accounting gap makes it unclear how much money the cameras --

which cities rent for between $5,000 and $6,000 a month, the grand

jury said -- generate for the cities that use them. And in Costa

Mesa, where use of cameras for enforcement at two of its

intersections was suspended following a court ruling, it makes it

hard to pinpoint how much money the city is losing.

“The report certainly highlights something we have known and have

been working on -- the ability to identify moving violations and

track revenue,” Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder said.

The 16-member Orange County Grand Jury examined red-light camera

use in five cities -- Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Santa Ana

and San Juan Capistrano.

It found that the existing accounting system in the county does

not distinguish between citations based on photos snapped of

red-light runners and those issued by officers. That makes it

difficult to tell if the cities are recouping the costs of operating

the cameras.

In February, Costa Mesa started issuing warnings rather than

tickets to people photographed running red lights at the

intersections of Newport Boulevard and 17th Street, and Newport

Boulevard and 19th Street. That came after one man successfully

fought his ticket.

The city could not issue tickets at those two intersections, the

court found, because they are operated by Caltrans. Costa Mesa’s two

other red-light cameras -- at Bristol Street and Anton Boulevard, and

Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue -- are not affected by the ruling,

and tickets are still going out to those caught on cameras there.

The two Caltrans intersections contain eight of the 15 spots in

the city where red light cameras snap pictures.

Under its contract, the city must pay equipment and operation fees

to a company called Nestor for each monitored location -- regardless

if it is issuing citations or not, Roeder said.

That means the city still has to pay for cameras -- roughly $7,000

monthly, Roeder said -- at each of the eight locations where it

issues warnings rather than tickets.

The city is working with Nestor and is investigating whether it is

still responsible for the monthly fee, Roeder said.

Removing the cameras before the five-year contract expires could

cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, he said.

The grand jury also found that, countywide, roughly a third of

those who receive the tickets aren’t paying the $336 fines. If

everyone had paid the tickets, that would have added up to about $5

million to be split among the five cities, the state and the county.

But, Roeder said, the point of putting the cameras in place was

not to create a cash cow for the city. Cities installed the cameras

with public safety in mind, the report said.

“I’m somewhat pleased to see that [the report] focused on the fact

that it’s not some kind of effort by cities to raise revenue,” Roeder

said. “That’s not the focus.”

Part of the City Council’s action approving the cameras was that

any proceeds would go to driver-education classes at local high

schools. So far, Roeder said, the money hasn’t come in to do that.

Red-light cameras do effectively reduce the number of accidents,

according to the report.

In Costa Mesa, accidents dropped 28.2% at three surveyed

intersections with red-light cameras. In Garden Grove, accidents

dropped 46.7% at three intersections.

Those figures may not be entirely accurate, the report stated,

because they count all accidents, not just those caused by red-light

runners.

The cameras often act as a deterrent once people know they’re

there, the report said.

The panel also spoke with officials from cities that don’t use

red-light cameras, including Newport Beach.

That city has not seriously considered installing the cameras, in

part because the public often perceives them as a “Big Brother” type

of enforcement, City Manager Homer Bludau said.

City leaders would not rule out the possibility of using them in

the future, but the main problem intersections are operated by the

California Department of Transportation, he said.

The grand jury also recommended that police departments

investigate training civilian workers to review red-light-camera

tickets. That would free up sworn officers to perform other duties.

Costa Mesa police will look into the possibility, and the chief

will submit a report to the grand jury in the next 90 days, Sgt. Rich

Allum said.

Cities with red-light cameras must respond to the grand jury’s

findings within 90 days.

City councils must address the accounting issues, something Costa

Mesa will have to do at an upcoming meeting, Roeder said.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil @latimes.com.