Picture this: cop replacing speed camera

The camera's operation does not cost the city any money.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Several council members want to remove a camera that tickets speeders here and have a traffic officer do the job.
But a police officer may not bring in the same amount of revenue to the struggling city, Mayor James Melfi said.
Councilman Tom Seidler proposed legislation last week to rescind the ordinance permitting the speed camera to operate here.
He initially wanted the legislation placed on the agenda as an emergency, but it went to a first of three readings because of lack of necessary votes from council to pass the measure as an emergency
Seidler said he and other council members want to see a police officer hired to address speeding concerns in the city.
Melfi said that adding an additional officer to the police force is not likely to happen this year. The city, he said, is still in too much debt to hire any employees.
Fiscal emergency
The city's general fund deficit was reduced to about $440,000 in 2005 from the more than $1 million deficit a short time ago, but there is an additional $500,000 that must be absorbed by the general fund before the city can emerge from fiscal emergency.
"We have had a successful year last year, but just like in personal households, some years you have a good year and some you don't. We have to be very careful," the mayor said. "Additions will not be made unless this city stays in the fast lane out of fiscal emergency."
Melfi said an incoming police officer with minimal experience will cost the city $60,000 annually, including benefits.
The traffic camera has been in place since July and, as of last week, put about $85,000 into the city's coffers.
No cost
The installation and operation of the camera has not cost the city any money. The city receives $60 of each $85 citation issued. Traffipax of Columbia, Md., the company contracted to install and operate the device, receives the remaining $25.
Girard Municipal Court personnel say a ticket issued from a police officer to a driver going 15 miles over the speed limit in the city will cost the driver $94 -- or $9 more than a ticket issued by the camera. That $94, however, is doled out to several different departments.
The city receives $10 out of the $94 for the actual fine. The remaining $84 is considered court costs. The city also would get an additional $30 out of the court costs. The rest of the money goes to two special court funds, two state programs and a special projects fund.
The city's net from each ticket issued by the officer would be $40 -- $20 less than those issued by the camera. To cover the expense of hiring another officer, 1,500 additional tickets would need to be issued annually, court personnel say. That number would increase substantially with any attempt to make up for the camera's revenue.
Reducing overtime
Seidler said hiring an additional officer still makes sense. He said the police department spent $150,000 in overtime pay during 2005 -- a cost that could be reduced with additional officers. He also said health-related costs from officers becoming burned out from the mandatory overtime could be avoided.
An officer, Seidler said, cannot write the same number of tickets issued by a speed camera, but people are more likely to pay a ticket issued by an officer. He said a large portion of the tickets issued by the camera go unpaid.
jgoodwin@vindy.com