Administrator's contract approved
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3 Dem supervisors approve photo-generated citations
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A contract that paves the way for photo-enforcement stations throughout unincorporated Pima County was approved Tuesday by the Pima County Board of Supervisors in a 3-2, party-line vote.
Democrats Richard ElΓas, RamΓ³n Valadez and Sharon Bronson voted yes, saying photo enforcement will make county roads safer by reducing speeding and accidents.
Republicans Ann Day and Ray Carroll voted against the contract. They argued that photo-radar enforcement infringes on civil liberties and would be especially rough on county drivers during tough economic times.
Carroll said it's unfair to drivers to ask them to defend themselves weeks after the fact.
Day said she was upset that the contract appeared on the consent agenda, which normally is reserved for routine items that are voted on as a group, and without much backup information. She said adopting photo enforcement is a major policy decision that should have been accompanied by a presentation about the pros and cons.
County officials estimate the new contract could raise as much as $1.5 million per year, depending on the number of tickets issued and how quickly drivers respond to photo enforcement by slowing down.
The decision to deploy photo enforcement comes as the county faces tough budget decisions in response to falling tax revenue, and the Sheriff's Department has a hiring freeze to help save money.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said money is not what's driving the decision.
"This is in response to a known traffic safety hazard, which is speeding in the unincorporated areas," he said.
The contract allows for the Sheriff's Department to deploy as many as 10 fixed units and 10 mobile van units in locations determined by accident data and traffic counters that also record the speed of passing cars. Tickets will be issued when vehicles are caught on camera going more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.
Both the Tucson Police Department and the state Department of Public Safety already use photo speed enforcement. TPD also uses red-light cameras, which Pima County will not.
The county's contract provides the vendor, American Traffic Solutions Inc. of Scottsdale, with $60 from the first 95 paid tickets each month from the fixed-location units and $23 for every ticket after that. The company will get $60 for the first 250 paid tickets each month issued on the mobile units.
A county's most common speeding ticket costs $201, of which $94 goes to the county. The rest goes to state surcharges and the clean-elections fund.
As with most photo-enforcement agreements, the equipment doesn't cost the county anything, but the contractor is paid from the county's portion of the revenue.
The contract calls for a seven-day warning period when the units are first deployed, probably about a month from now, and a review of how it's working in a year.
"I don't think a review in a year will indicate anything other than it's a great program, and it's generating revenue for the county and the contractor," said Carroll, who questioned why the county didn't deploy more motorcycle officers if police are aware of the problem areas.
Lt. Karl Woolridge of the Sheriff's Department said the department has only seven motorcycle officers doing traffic enforcement for the entire county, and they often are responding to complaints near schools and in residential areas.
Valadez said concerns about whether photo enforcement is unfair to speeders are misplaced.
"Don't our kids and families have a right to be safe?" he asked.
In other business, the Board of Supervisors renewed Huckelberry's contract for another four years. Carroll, who cast the only 'no' vote, said he did not feel that Huckelberry provided adequate information or help with constituent services to Republican supervisors.
Valadez said Huckelberry, who has been the county's top executive since 1993, provides needed stability in what are expected to be very difficult financial times for the county.
"I never believe it's good to rock the boat in turbulent times," Valadez said. "I believe this community has been well-served by him being the administrator."
The supervisors also unanimously approved two resolutions that ask federal agencies to require an environmental-impact statement from California Portland Cement before they issue any permits for mining in Davidson Canyon, and ask state agencies to review those impact statements before issuing permits.
