Township Considers Red Light Cameras

In an effort to help curb accidents and increase the township's revenue, West Orange officials are investigating the integration of red light cameras.

Township Council President Sal Anderton said the council is just beginning the process and nothing is confirmed.

"I've been following it in the press and media and in other communities, so we're looking at it from a revenue source and safety perspective," he said. "We have very busy intersections that we should be able to try to improve upon."

The council heard from Charles Callari, New Jersey regional business development director at American Traffic Solutions, Tuesday as a start in the process to implement the cameras.

"The council is exploring opportunities to leverage their resource a little differently in terms of technology and they're aware our firm offers a life-saving technology," he said. "They're on a mission to collect as much information as possible right now."

A red light camera is a camera placed a few feet back from an intersection that catches people as they violate a red light by recording the car's license plate.

Callari said a red light camera violation in New Jersey is an $85 fine with $46 going to the municipality, $27.50 to the county and $11.50 to the state. He said, though, if the county wants to derive their portion of the revenue, they have to pay 50 percent of the vendor fees that are agreed to by the municipality with the third-party vendor.

Callari said there's no out-of-pocket expenses for the municipality or no up-front costs. Instead, the company takes a portion of the revenue that is received through the collection component. He said that makes up for about 10 to 15 percent of the gross revenue generated in the program.

He would not give an exact figure as to how much that would be, but said most New Jersey clients with American Traffic Solutions are paying about $19,000 a month.

He said most municipalities in the state are generating somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000 total revenue a month, with a yearly revenue of roughly $1.4 million, from one red light camera at one four-way intersection.

Callari said, though, that American Traffic Solutions' contract guarantees their fees never exceed the amount of revenue generated by the cameras.

He told the council that most townships in New Jersey are issuing between 1,200 and 3,000 summonses a month from one camera at one four-way intersection. He cited Glassboro, Brick Township, Linden and Woodbridge as examples, but did not specify the ticket amounts for each town.

Township Councilwoman Susan McCartney questioned the collection rate of red light cameras on roads in the township, as most are major arteries owned by the county and state.

Callari said that doesn't affect the municipal revenue.

"What's unique about this program is ... only the municipality can apply for the program," he said. "Whether the road is a county or state road has no bearing on the revenue cycle ... the only thing is if the county wants to opt in, they can collect $27.50." He said the county can opt out and not collect their part of the ticket revenue, which would then go to the municipality.

Some argue, though, that the red light cameras strictly are revenue boosters for townships. Callari said this is a vocal minority.

"Across the country we have seen time and time again that our technology is a life-saving technology," he said. "It truly changes driving behavior and the behavior we're trying to reduce is the amount of aggressive driving that takes place at intersections."

West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi said the council is in the beginning stages of this process and it will be some time before there is a conclusion reached to integrate red light cameras. He also said there's no firm decision on any locations of the cameras, if the township were to move forward.

"There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered," Parisi said. "Some of the benefits are different and we'll look to see what's best for the community."