- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
BY SUSAN BROWN
sbrown@nwitimes.com
219.836.3780 | Tuesday, June 10, 2008 | (6 comment(s))
HAMMOND | Concerned about the city's adoption of red-light cameras, City Clerk Robert Golec said he will raise the issue at this week's annual conference of the Indiana League of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers.
Golec said he questions whether the resulting citations can be written as parking tickets as the city intends. Golec said he believes running a red light is a moving violation "if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck."
Under the city's plan, the private company operating the camera system would collect on parking fines, but Golec said state law appears to require his office to collect on moving violations. He fears a significant increase in the burden on his office, which could be costly, he said.
Should even 100 additional tickets be written a day, Golec said he faces processing some 2,000 more tickets a month, meaning he may need to hire part-time help.
Meanwhile, police officers already have written 2,000 more tickets than they had last year at this time, many of which are uncollected, he said. Golec said if people aren't paying tickets written by police officers, he questioned the odds of people paying tickets that would come in the mail from a private company.
"What about the unpaid tickets?" he said.
There is talk of hiring a collection agency, which Golec called "another whole legal quagmire."
Despite lingering questions, Golec said city officials decided at a meeting that only contested citations would be forwarded to the clerk's office. The clerk's office then would prepare the contested citation for court. "The moment that ticket comes to the clerk, it will be processed as a moving violation," he said.
Aside from his role as city clerk, Golec said he has personal concerns about the effect of the program on struggling Hessville residents. Three of the targeted intersections are in the Hessville neighborhood, which Golec represented when he served on the City Council.
Among the listed intersections is 169th Street and Grand Avenue, but Golec said the most dangerous intersection is really a few blocks away where there's an elementary school where drivers are permitted to turn on red except when children are present.
"As Bob Golec, I just think these locations were picked because they are high-traffic areas and the high number of tickets that can be issued," he said. "Is it really a safety issue? I think it's a money-grabbing issue."
Back to story 6 comment(s)
- It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
- It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
- It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
- It promoted violence or illegal acts.
- It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.
In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.
Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.
Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.
If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.
For more information please read our Terms of Service.
Post a comment Once your comments are approved, they will appear here.
» More Lake County Stories
- Auxiliary to award scholarships to students in health care
- $250K within M'ville's reach to help fund benefits
- Lake County news briefs
- Families find fun at Festival of the Lakes
- Judge holds off decision on DNA test in murder trial
- Tree trimming cuts down on S'ville power outages
- C.P. graduates thank teachers, parents for start in life
rustcity wrote on Jun 10, 2008 12:23 PM:
Depending upon traffic tickets for revenue is poor policy and just plain wrong. Using tickets to enhance safety is an entirely another issue. Something tells me Golec's question and comment has merit, "Is it really a safety issue? I think it's a money-grabbing issue." "
Seriously wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:39 AM:
and is this really a saftey issue putting higher traffic security cameras near an elementary school located at a high traffic intersection,,,
"He thinks it's a money-grabbing issue?."
HENCE THE TITLE 'CITY CLERK' "
Paul wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:37 AM:
Why protect ciminals wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:21 AM:
rs wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:01 AM:
Jack wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:42 AM: