Couple vows to continue fight against Brooksville’s red-light cameras
BROOKSVILLE — Pat and Shirley Miketinac lost their battle, but they vow to continue fighting Brooksville’s notorious red-light cameras — just not in a courtroom.
Pat and Shirley Miketinac lost their battle in court to allow voters to decide the fate of red-light cameras but they say they will continue to petition the Brooksville City Council to get rid of them. FILE
The most outspoken critics of Brooksville’s red-light cameras, the Miketinacs got bad news last month when Circuit Court Judge Thomas Eineman ruled in favor of the city of Brooksville in keeping the camera issue off of local ballots.
The Miketinacs had collected enough petitions and provided them to the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections office in time to get the issue on November ballots, but Brooksville officials successfully argued that the ballot language was too broad, among other things.
The city filed a lawsuit against the Miketinacs and several other people, including current city Councilwoman Betty Erhard, a circulator of petitions produced by the Miketinacs.
“The lawsuit names seven of us, so if we go forward we drag all of them with us, and a majority of them don’t want to go forward,” Shirley Miketinac said. “Their names would be tied up in it. If we lose, we have to pay the other side, too.”
The cameras are arguably most reviled for citing motorists who go more than 5 mph on legal right-on-red turns; citations cost $158 each.
For the Miketinacs, the decision not to appeal Eineman’s decision comes down to money.
“Do we think we could win? It’s entirely possible,” Shirley Miketinac said. “But we don’t see consistency in the judicial system. Filing fees are expensive, paperwork is expensive, and we don’t want to impose on our friends.
“We don’t have the resources to do it ourselves. These cases can last for years, hundreds of thousands of dollars. We don’t have the funding to do it.”
Meanwhile, the cameras continue to generate revenue for the city.
The city 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, red-light cameras are expected to generate more than $3.1 million.
Despite the revenue, city officials, including Police Chief George Turner, have touted them as effective tools to improve public safety.
“Anything to make the roads safe is good for us,” Turner has said.
The city uses revenue generated from red-light camera citations for improvements to city streets, sidewalks, culverts, lighting and other items related to safety.
While the Miketinacs won’t appeal Eineman’s ruling, they plan to continue lobbying Brooksville City Council and talking to people who attend citation hearings at City Hall.
Erhard, the new city council member who opposes red-light cameras, won outgoing Mayor Kevin Hohn’s District 4 seat. Hohn was a staunch red-light camera defender.
Other city council newcomers are Natalie Kahler, who replaces Lara Bradburn, a red-light camera supporter, and Robert “Butch” Battista, who replaces outspoken red-light camera critic Joe Bernardini.
“As long as we have safe drivers being ticketed, we’ll work on it,” Shirley Miketinac said. “We’ve never had a citation, that’s not what this is about. There’s a new city council, possibly with a new outlook.
“We’ll definitely continue to attend their meetings and encourage them not to vote to renew (the red-light camera contract with Sensys America) when it ends next year.”
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