Red-light camera battle could go to court in December
BROOKSVILLE — A legal fight about Brooksville’s much-debated red-light cameras could go to trial in December.
Lakeland attorney Gail Cheatwood, representing Pat and Shirley Miketinac, who tried to get an ordinance that could ban the cameras onto November ballots, said a judge could decide on Oct. 14 when, and if, the issue goes to trial.
Cheatwood and attorneys representing the city of Brooksville, as well as a nonprofit group called Keep Florida Roads Safe, both of which are suing the Miketinacs, met last week during a case management conference before Circuit Court Judge Thomas Eineman.
“The courts will have to decide whether it’s to be allowed on the ballot in a general or special election,” Cheatwood said.
“If you invented the red-light cameras and have an unfavorable ruling, it hurts somebody’s pockets,” she said. “Municipalities make a lot of money (with red-light cameras). With the economy like it is, cities need revenue, and they certainly found a way.”
In February, City Manager Jennene Norman-Vacha said during a budget workshop that the city collected more than $487,000 in red-light camera revenue during the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Much of the money comes from right-on-red tickets, which can be issued to motorists who exceed 5 mph when making a right turn at a red light, among other reasons.
The tickets cost vehicle owners $158 apiece. Of that amount, $83 goes to the state, while $75 of each ticket goes to Brooksville, said City Clerk Jan Peters. Brooksville then gives half of its share to Sensys America, the camera company, Peters said.
In June, the Miketinacs submitted enough signed petitions to Hernando County’s supervisor of elections to have voters consider the ordinance in November.
But Brooksville officials say there are legal problems with the ballot language. 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 said.
Removing that language “would be a big hurdle out of the way,” Taylor said.
Allowing the referendum to appear on the ballot, as written, also could be a breach of the city’s contract with Sensys, Taylor said.
“You can’t make something unlawful that’s lawful, if you have a legal enterprise that the state recognizes,” he said.
There is a clause in the city’s agreement with Sensys that states: “Sensys shall at all times comply with all federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations … which affect this agreement and shall indemnify and save harmless the city against any claims arising from Sensys’ violation of any such laws, ordinances and regulations …”
Taylor said that section of the ordinance does not apply in this case because the red-light camera law already is established.
“You can’t have a local ordinance that just bans something that is a law,” Taylor said.
That, Taylor said, would be like the city banning all motor vehicle repair shops. The council could not do that, he said, because such a business is a lawful enterprise under state law.
“You can regulate it, but you can’t ban it,” he said.
Keep Florida Roads Safe seeks to consolidate its suit against the Miketinacs with the city’s, but Taylor said he would prefer that the city not align itself with the group.
“My motive is protecting the city charter,” he said.
Keep Florida Roads Safe recently was incorporated by Cristin C. Keane, a shareholder in the Tampa office of law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, said Kate Barth, the firm’s public relations manager.
The law firm has offices in Atlanta; Hartford, Conn.; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Orlando; St. Petersburg; Tallahassee; Tampa; Washington, D.C.; and West Palm Beach.
“Keep Florida Roads Safe was formed by individuals who support the use of red-light safety cameras in Florida,” the law firm said in an email. “It is a nonprofit entity whose purpose is to ensure that decision-makers at all levels of government are educated about the relationship between state and local laws governing traffic safety.
“Keep Florida Roads Safe supports the city of Brooksville’s position on their red-light safety camera program and stands ready to provide any assistance needed in their efforts to continue the important safety initiative.”
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