Tempe’s photo-enforcement contract with Redflex Traffic Systems is now history.
At its July 7 meeting, the City Council voted 4 to 3 to reject a contract-renewal motion, effectively ending photo enforcement in Tempe as of the existing contract’s July 18 expiration date.
Cameras are due to be turned off at midnight Tuesday, July 19.
City Manager Charlie Meyer said that the council is likely to consider photo enforcement in general at a future meeting, at which time it could direct city staff to issue a request for proposals for a new photo-enforcement contract.
The city’s procurement process could take several weeks to recommend a winning bidder for the council’s consideration. After that, photo enforcement equipment would need to be acquired, installed and tested before the program re-launches.
If the council pursues such an option, the process could take an estimated six months, Meyer said. During the intervening time period, all intersection- and speed-van enforcement cameras would be turned off. Redflex owns the equipment and may decide to remove it from Tempe during that time.
Redflex filed a lawsuit against Tempe in December 2010, alleging that the city has violated its contract with the company by not turning over a portion of the fees paid by cited drivers who elect to go to traffic school.
Tempe maintains the contract does not require those payments to Redflex. City Attorney Andrew Ching has been negotiating on the city’s behalf to resolve the lawsuit.
Tempe has operated its photo enforcement program in an effectively revenue-neutral manner. In 2010, 31 percent of non-traffic-school citations issued in Tempe were resolved and paid. The total amount of fees collected from those was $1.8 million.
By state law, Tempe forwards most of the fees to the state and county; the city also pays a portion to Redflex.
The remaining $381,000 in 2010 went to offset Tempe’s staff costs for processing and adjudicating citations, leaving a balance of $15,000 that the city covered.
Meyer emphasized that, regardless of the presence of photo enforcement, drivers should continue to obey speed limits in Tempe.
“We still will have police officers enforcing speed limits,” he said. “We want people to drive safely and responsibly.”
