- May 2, 2024
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Palm Coast’s 43 red-light cameras have brought the city $229,600 since the last one installed was activated in January.
The city began its red-light camera program with 10 cameras in May 2008, and added another 33 between November 2012 and January 2013.
The 43 cameras are divided between 22 intersections, and the cameras are doing their job, said city spokeswoman Cindi Lane.
“Our recidivism rate is 13%,” she said. “That means 87% of people who get a ticket, they pay it and don’t get another. That’s important because it shows that it does change driver behavior.”
Citation money from the cameras is divided between the city, camera company American Traffic Solutions, and the state, which takes by far the largest portion of citation revenue. Red-light camera citations are generally $158.
Out of a total of $1,656,629 generated by Palm Coast’s cameras since Jan. 1, Florida took $815,777. ATS received $611,222, and Palm Coast made a total of $229,600.
Instead of a percentage of citation revenue, the city receives $700 per month per camera under its current contract with ATS, said city spokeswoman Cindi Lane. With 43 cameras, the city is now making $31,000 per month.
The arrangement differs from ATS contracts in many other cities, where the city pays the camera company a flat monthly fee to install and maintain the cameras, and then takes a percentage of the revenue.
Those contracts leave cities with plenty of cash when citation numbers are high, but can leave them in the hole when citation revenue drops off, as it generally does over time as drivers change their behavior. Palm Coast has seen a major change in the number of citations, Lane said.
“When we first had them, there were a lot of red-light runners,” she said. “But they’re effective, and the numbers went down.”
