Virginia Beach red-light cameras slow to rake in cash

VIRGINIA BEACH

When city officials signed off last fall on installing 20 red-light cameras at intersections, they had hoped the program would bring in $350,000 a year in profit.

They may have overestimated.

So far, each intersection is bringing in about $100 a day in paid violations. At that rate, with 20 cameras operating at 11 intersections, the city won't cover the PhotoSafe Program's estimated $1.3 million annual cost. It also won't make a profit.

But that's OK, city budget director Catheryn Whitesell said.

"The intent of the program is to get people to stop running red lights," she said. "That's what we're hoping to achieve."

The city won't lose any money on the PhotoSafe Program, even if drivers never run a red light, Whitesell added.

Virginia Beach's contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., the Phoenix-based company that installs, maintains and monitors the cameras, stipulates that it will only collect money through red light violations, said Officer Jimmy Barnes, a police spokesman.

From March 13 through June 30, red light violators caught on camera paid $26,950 in fines, Barnes said. That equates to 539 violations paid at $50 each.

That money went to Redflex, he said.

Revenues may be falling short of expectations because the program has taken longer than expected to get started, Whitesell said.

Collections should increase as the city installs additional cameras and as the 30-day warning periods - during which no fines are charged - expire, said Officer Brian Walters, the PhotoSafe Program coordinator. It also takes several months to collect fines sometimes, he added.

The Department of Transportation is in the process of approving cameras at two more intersections: Independence Boulevard at Baxter Road and Diamond Springs Road at Northampton Boulevard, according to the PhotoSafe Web site.

In the 2009- 10 budget, the city estimated PhotoSafe will cost $1.3 million and bring in $1.9 million during the fiscal year, Whitesell said. That would mean a $600,000 profit for the city's general fund.

But not if revenue falls short of covering Redflex's cost.

If that happens over a prolonged period of time, the city may have to scale back the program, Whitesell said. It could reduce the number of cameras or eliminate the two part-time PhotoSafe positions in the Police Department, which cost about $86,000 a year, she said.

If there's an outstanding balance when the city's contract with Redflex expires in 2013, the company forfeits that money, spokeswoman Shoba Vaitheeswaran said.

"The whole point is to mitigate the risk on the city," she said. "It would be extremely difficult for them to adapt this type of technology unless we use this type of business model."

The fee structure works differently in each city, Vaitheeswaran said. For example, some programs allow Redflex to collect a portion of each violation fee, but Virginia law doesn't allow that.

Redflex has cameras in more than 240 cities nationwide.

"It's a win-win for the city," said Sgt. Ryan Arnold, who supervises the PhotoSafe Program. "We don't care about the money; we care about the safety."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com