One of the recognizable political personalities in Culver City said this morning she is puzzled by the way the City Council and Police Dept. have “selectively clammed up” since signing up for a new three-year hitch last week with a shadowy red light camera vendor.
“I don’t know why the information has been dribbled out in the fashion it has,” she said. “I don’t know why the people involved have been so circumspect with regard to financial information.”
Just as a high-ranking City Hall official last week contradicted interim Police Chief Scott Bixby’s statement about the nature of his department’s investigation of Redflex, this well-placed woman made a similar statement regarding Chief Financial Officer Jeff Muir. He said last week that City Hall does not know the precise amount of revenue it gains from red light camera violations.
We Know. We Know?
Wrong, the woman told the newspaper.
“I believe we know exactly how much we net from red light tickets,” she said. “I understand there is a substantial six-figure net revenue to the city on an annual basis. The relationship with Redflex has nothing to do with how much money comes in from red light cameras. They get paid a flat fee every month, based upon the number of approaches there are at an intersection.
“If an intersection has four approaches, Redflex gets paid four times (I think) $4,000 per approach. After subtracting all costs associated with the red light camera program, including the contract fee payable to Redflex, I believe there still is a a net in excess of a quarter-million dollars to the city.”
For emphasis, the woman repeated her earlier observation that she is baffled by the city’s “refusal” to release the information.
City Council members continue to say that re-upping with legally embroiled Redflex for three more years of flashing red light cameras “is a safety issue not an economic issue. If we made no money, it would not necessarily matter. We believe the presence of red light cameras is a safety issue.”
However, whether safety is a demonstrable fact or a handy jingle, no data has been released to support the allegation.
And so the fires of the ostensibly unnecessary red light controversy continue to crackle.
