Camera program running deficit on fines
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By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
The state's traffic camera enforcement program collected more than $90,000 in fines and fees in its first two months of operation, officials said yesterday.
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Court records show the state judiciary transferred nearly $56,964 in collected fines in January and February from the speed camera program to a special revolving loan fund used to run the program and pay the private camera operator.
Sen. Cal Kawamoto predicts financial improvement.
Another $24,720 in fees was transferred to the state general fund, and $8,652 was turned over to a special fund to finance driver education programs in the same period, the records show.
The money in the first fund is not enough to cover the $144,000 payment due ACS, State and Local Solutions, the company that runs the camera program under contract with the state, but officials said yesterday they still expect the program to be self-sustaining in the long run.
"I think we'll see it generate more money as it goes along, enough to cover the expenses," said state Sen. Cal Kawamoto, head of the Senate Transportation Committee.
The deficit is largely the result of an unforeseen need to pay ACS for some tickets that were never issued. Although the original contract called for fines from only paid tickets to cover all ACS charges, the state has agreed to pay the company a reduced rate of $22.31 per ticket for a growing number of unissued citations in which the name of the car's registered owner can't be matched with names on state driver's license rolls, a requirement of the state judiciary.
That's left the program with a deficit of more than $53,000 in the first two months of the program.
"It was like a change order to a building project," Kawamoto said. "It's our fault for not anticipating the problem, but we're stuck now. We've got to pay because we asked for the work."
Kawamoto said the state also expected to receive more fine money from the red-light-running section of the camera program. That portion of the program has never been instituted because of differences with city officials, who operate traffic signals at state road intersections.
"It would be nice if they could resolve it pretty soon, but there are accusations on both sides that make it difficult," Kawamoto said yesterday.
Although the state judiciary collects the fees and fines, it receives no money from the program, spokeswoman Marsha Kitagawa said yesterday.
Transportation director Brian Minaai repeated his proposal yesterday that the day-to-day operations of the camera program be transferred to county police departments. That would encourage more efficient use of law enforcement resources, Minaai told members of the state House Transportation Committee yesterday. He said camera operators could work side-by-side with police solo bike officers to coordinate efforts to slow down speeders.
The House committee deferred action on a Senate bill to repeal the entire van cam project, moving one step closer to a conference committee showdown over the fate of the program near the end of the legislative session in April.
