Modesto may keep red-light cameras for five more years

Modesto’s four red-light cameras – which have been around for about a decade – may stay on for five more years, and the city might put cameras at more intersections.

The City Council tonight is expected to consider amending Modesto’s agreement with Redflex Cameras Systems for an additional five years, with an option for a two-year renewal. Police officials recommend the council approve the amendment.

The amendment is listed under the consent items on the meeting agenda. Consent items typically are approved with no discussion unless a council member requests a discussion before the council vote.

Modesto has camera systems at four major intersections but has suspended their use since May 16, 2014, as the city and RedFlex negotiated a new deal at a lower cost. Police officials have said they were concerned Modesto was paying more for its cameras than what other cities pay.

Police Chief Galen Carroll has said a lack of staffing has been the prime reason for keeping the cameras dark so long. The police review the photos and video from the cameras to determine whether to issue citations. Carroll has said he has solved the staffing issue.

Modesto will save about $108,000 annually under the amendment.

The city had been paying Redflex $271,584 annually for the four camera systems, but will pay $163,200, according to the amendment. Modesto will pay Redflex $60,000 annually for each additional camera system it installs.

This is not the first time Modesto has looked at expanding the number of cameras. In 2009, the city and Redflex amended their original 2004 agreement to add cameras to four more intersections. A city report states those cameras were never installed because of conflicting court decisions over the legality of the cameras. The report states the California Supreme Court ruled in June 2014 that the cameras are legal.

City officials sold the cameras to the public as being “cost neutral” when Modesto entered into the 2004 agreement. That meant Modesto was supposed to collect enough money from its share of the red-light tickets to pay what it owed Redflex.

Police officials have said they believe the cameras are cost neutral. The Stanislaus Superior Court collects the payments from all of the traffic tickets Modesto issues and sends the city its share. But the court cannot provide the city with a breakdown showing how much of that revenue comes solely from the red-light camera citations.

“Cost Neutrality has been deleted from the original agreement because the City currently has no way to determine the exact revenue generated specifically from red-light cameras on a month-to-month basis,” the city report states.

The tickets remain costly. A ticket for running a red light is $489, whether it is issued by a police officer or from a red-light camera, according to the Stanislaus County Court. Modesto gets a fraction of the $489. The Bee reported in March 2005 – when the city’s first red-light cameras went live – that the citations were $340.

Police say the cameras make intersections safer, though some experts question that. Many California cities have turned their cameras off in recent years. Modesto is one of 47 California cities with red-light cameras, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The amendment also calls for Redflex to upgrade the four camera systems so they catch motorists driving through an intersection on a red light. The cameras have only been catching motorists making illegal left and right turns, according to the city report.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Modesto may keep red-light cameras for five more years."