43
Girard City Council OKs speed camera contract
By Sarah Lehr
GIRARD
City council approved a contract with Blue Line Solutions for a hand-held speed-camera program.
The contract stipulates the city will receive 60 percent of the program’s fine revenue. The company receives the remaining 40 percent.
Blue Line also will reimburse the police department for overtime pay, according to the police chief.
Proponents of the camera, which uses laser technology, cite safety concerns and a desire to free up manpower in an understaffed police department.
Only Councilman Thomas Grumley voted no Monday on the camera’s use. Council authorized Safety/Service Director Jerry Lambert to enter into a contract with the Tennessee-based company.
Grumley has repeatedly voted against the program and has expressed concern the hand-held camera will discourage police from enforcing laws through traffic stops.
Because of 2014 Ohio legislation restricting unmanned traffic cameras, an officer must operate the speed camera. That officer has discretion about whether to pull someone over.
The camera snaps a license plate photo, and a potential speeder later receives a citation in the mail. The citations are civil, meaning they do not count against the offender’s driving record, and can save a municipality money on court costs.
Under Girard’s contract, Blue Line will pay for a hearings administrator to be available if a driver wants to appeal the citation.
Fines will be $100 for driving at least 11 miles per hour over the speed limit. There are additional fees for late payment and speeding in a construction zone. Under state law, fines cannot exceed what court costs would have been.
Mayor James Melfi estimated the camera will be on the road by Sept. 1. State law mandates a warning period before issuing fines.
Council voted in April to distribute 70 percent of the camera-fine revenue to the city’s general fund and 30 percent to capital improvements for the police department.
The city ended May with a general-fund deficit of about $124,000, according to city Auditor Sam Zirafi.
Zirafi also reported the city ended May with a water-fund deficit of about $266,000, though he noted that deficit had shrunk considerably from the $460,000 water fund deficit recorded at the start of 2016.
In other business, council OK’d a new five-year 0.5-mill parks and recreation levy to go before voters for their approval in November. The levy would generate $54,829 annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $17.50 per year.
Council voted earlier this month to bring two separate five-year garbage renewal levies to the ballot. Renewal of a 1-mill garbage levy would raise about $57,000 annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $35 per year. Renewal of a 1.1-mill garbage levy would raise about $76,000 annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $38.50 per year.