Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/14/1432.asp

11/7/2006

Washington: City Admits Cameras are for Revenue
Bremerton, Washington mayor describes photo enforcement devices as revenue generators.

Bremerton, Washington is considering the installation of photo enforcement primarily as a means to increase municipal revenue. The system will issue $101 tickets to the owners of vehicles that drive with the flow of traffic or enter an intersection a fraction of a second after the light turns red.

The city budget for next year projects $1,036,260 in profit from four red light cameras and a mobile speed camera.

"We're always looking at ways to increase revenues without having to increase taxes," Mayor Cary Bozeman. "If we want to increase levels of service, you've just got to be looking at these types of revenue generators."

Other Washington cities do not admit the purpose of the system is to make money. Auburn, for example, has issued a steadily increasing number of citations making $111,100 in revenue for July, $121,200 in August and $131,300 in September. A police officer skims tapes of citations for about 20-30 minutes before hundreds of citations are issued.

Source: Call It the Long Lens of the Law (Bremerton Sun (WA), 10/27/2006)

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