Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/17/1717.asp

4/24/2007

Ohio: City Hesitates on Red Light Cameras
An Ohio city is uncertain about the future of red light cameras in the state.

Uncertainty about the future of photo enforcement in the state of Ohio has forced at least one city to consider rejecting the sales pitch of a red light camera vendor. At a Monday meeting of the Canton City Council, some members said that they are not currently willing to go along with camera proposals given legal uncertainty over the issue. Earlier this month, the Minnesota Supreme Court declared camera ticketing illegal (view ruling) in a case essentially identical to one currently before the Ohio Supreme Court.

"I'm not (ruling) it out completely, but if I had to vote tomorrow, I'd vote no," City Councilman Donald Casar said, as reported in the Canton Repository newspaper. "Basically I think some (council members could not) care less, either way, and then there's a few of us that don't want to jump into that at this particular time."

Redflex, an Australian company with a large presence in the Buckeye state, had offered to run every aspect of the ticket program in return for as much as 70 percent of the fines collected.

"Personally, I think they are unconstitutional," Councilman Mary Cirelli said.

Sensing the uncertainty in the market, some Australian investors have backed away from Redflex. The company's stock slid from A$3.40 (US $2.81) a share at the beginning of the month to A$3.03 (US $2.50) yesterday.

Source: Canton may put brakes on traffic cameras (Canton Repository (OH), 4/24/2007)

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