A program intended to increase traffic safety has turned into a major source of revenue for the city of Lynnwood, and other South County cities are following suit:
• Edmonds police have asked for a one-year pilot program that would install five so called red light cameras in three Edmonds intersections;
• Mill Creek has identified one intersection and three approaches as good candidates for such a program; and
• Mountlake Terrace will install red light cameras at three intersections by late April.
The cameras photograph the license plates of vehicles that run red lights, charging the registered owners $124 per violation.
The program, which started July 1 2007, had brought in $1,380,687 through Tuesday, March 11, said Diane Rheaume, the city’s municipal court operations supervisor.
“It hasn’t slacked off a bit,” she said. “It stays pretty fairly consistent.”
Lynnwood’s 10 red light cameras generate so much revenue that the City Council in December authorized a proposal by Mayor Don Gough to use the money to pay for three new police officers and three firefighters — all positions that had been listed as needs in the 2007-08 biennial budget.
Later this year, the City Council is likely to review the program to make sure the city can afford to pay for even more police and fire officials with the red light funds. If council members sign off on the plan, the city could add an additional six public safety employees to its list of red light camera revenue-supported positions.
Now, Tim Eyman, the man behind a slew of citizen initiatives seeking to rein in government spending, has introduced an initiative petition that may directly affect how cities like Lynnwood choose to spend their red light camera revenues.
His Initiative 985, named Reduce Traffic Congestion, aims to open HOV lanes to more drivers during off-peak hours, require traffic lane synchronization and mandate increased funding for roadside assistance.
To pay for this congestion relief, his initiative seeks a dedicated state account, funded by 15 percent of the sales tax on vehicle sales, half-percent-for-arts money set aside for transportation projects, and red light camera revenue.
Gough said he’d heard about Eyman’s initiative but didn’t know enough about it to comment specifically.
He said the decision to fund the new public safety positions from red light camera revenues does “raise a great deal of weight on my brain as to what you do with this revenue.”
Mountlake Terrace city manager John Caulfield said he doesn’t expect his city’s photo enforcement program to “generate a significant amount of money” and isn’t concerned about Eyman’s proposal.
“I’m not expecting this to be a cash cow,” he said. “We might not make dime or we might just break even.”
Lynnwood Councilman Mark Smith called Eyman’s initiative “one of those classic cases of trying to dictate how local jurisdictions will use the money.”
Smith supported Gough’s proposal to fund the first three firefighters and three cops with red light camera revenues. But he asked that the next round of hires, for another six public safety personnel, be subject to review by the council. His associate on the council, Lisa Utter, also has said she wants the council to review the issue in future budget meetings.
“The money generated from that shouldn’t be used for ongoing operating expenses,” Smith said. “The red light program is not a revenue stream; it’s a traffic enforcement program.”
Regarding Eymans’ initiative, Edmonds Councilwoman Deanna Dawson said eliminating or reducing traffic congestion is a “laudable goal,” but added, “so are others, including funding public safety programs, road overlays and so forth.
“I believe that the people of Edmonds would be more comfortable having their local elected officials deciding where revenues can be put to the best use, rather than tying our hands with state legislation.”
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