Brooksville collects $2.8 million in 2013 red-light revenue
BROOKSVILLE — The city of Brooksville collected more than $2.8 million from red-light camera citations written to motorists last year, and slightly less is expected to be collected this year.
In 2015, though, the red-light cameras are expected to generate more than $3.1 million, city officials learned during recent budget talks.
Sensys America cameras were installed in Brooksville in February 2012, a year when $658,222 in revenue from citations was collected. The city previously had red-light cameras through American Traffic Solutions.
While the red-light cameras have been unpopular among many residents — a proposed ordinance to ban them is being battled in court and could go to a special election — Brooksville Police Chief George Turner touts them as important safety mechanisms that help save lives and solve traffic crimes.
He recently defended the camera program and the city’s much discussed 5 mph speed limit for right turns on red, which is not posted.
“For one, the law has always been that you have to stop before turning right on red,” Turner said. “Then, our state Legislature made a statute that conflicts with the (state law) on red lights. They said you can turn right at a red light if you do it in a safe and prudent manner.
“But, they didn’t define what safe and prudent was. Cities have taken it upon themselves to define what it means. Some cities say 5 mph; some say 10 mph.”
Brooksville’s 5 mph right-on-red speed limit is low compared to other cities around the Tampa Bay area.
In Sarasota, the speed limit on right-hand turns is 25 mph; it’s 18 mph in Tampa; 15 mph in New Port Richey and Hillsborough County; and 12 mph in St. Petersburg. Clearwater and Port Richey do not have specific right-on-red speed limits, state Department of Transportation records show.
However, Turner said he has heard of some municipalities enacting a 0 mph speed limit on right-on-red turns so that the Legislature’s ruling doesn’t confuse people. Brooksville’s 5 mph right-on-red speed limit was set by City Council.
Opponents of red-light cameras often complain the 5-mph speed limit is not posted, but Turner said that’s not the city’s fault.
“The city council wanted to put up signs everywhere,” Turner said. “We wanted signs at every road entering the city that the right-on-red is strictly enforced with a 5 mph speed limit on turns. The signs we have up now are what the DOT has allowed.
“City council wanted everyone to know, so there’s no secret.”
Kris Carson, a DOT spokeswoman, confirmed the agency does not erect signs for right-on-red speed limits. The city does have signs alerting drivers that laws at red lights are photo enforced.
While the city expects to collect millions from red-light citations, not all of the money stays in Brooksville.
Motorists are fined $158 for red-light camera violations, which range from running red lights to exceeding the 5-mph speed limit.
For each citation, $83 goes to the state, while $75 of each ticket goes to Brooksville. The city then gives half of its $75 to Sensys America, the camera company.
The city uses its revenue generated from red-light camera citations for improvements to city streets, sidewalks, culverts, lighting and other items related to safety.
A legal battle about the proposed ordinance that could ban red-light cameras is ongoing.
In June, Pat and Shirley Miketinac submitted enough signed petitions to Hernando County’s supervisor of elections to have voters consider such an ordinance in November’s general election.
Brooksville leaders battled the proposed ordinance on legal grounds, saying the ballot language was too broad.
If the referendum was passed as written, it would prevent all future city councils from enacting or enforcing a red-light camera law, City Attorney Cliff Taylor has said.
A group of red-light camera supporters called Keep Florida Roads Safe also is suing the Miketinacs and wants to consolidate its suit against the couple with the city’s, a wish that Taylor has not embraced.
Keep Florida Roads Safe recently was incorporated by Cristin C. Keane, a shareholder in the Tampa office of law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt.
This week, Hernando County Administrator Len Sossamon received a public records request from Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, seeking records of communication between the county and the Miketinacs or any other red-light camera opponents.
The request left Deputy County Attorney Jon Jouben puzzled.
“I cannot foresee that the request will yield anything new or useful for Carlton Fields,” Jouben wrote in an email. “The (Board of County Commissioners) has publicly expressed both its displeasure with Brooksville’s red-light cameras and its support of the proposed charter amendment referendum on many occasions.
“The Board has voted to go forward with its own red-light camera referendum in the event that one does not occur on the proposed charter amendment.”
In the meantime, Turner’s two full-time officers and one part-time officer dedicated to photo enforcement will continue doing their jobs.
“We probably reject more tickets than (we issue). We reject a ton of them,” he said. “They err on the side of leniency when it’s close.”
Still, he said, “It’s all about traffic safety. Anything to make the roads safer is good for us.”
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