Nassau County lawmakers unanimously voted to repeal the controversial school speed-zone-camera program on Monday, leaving a $30 million revenue gap in the county budget that officials have said could end 2014 with a $76.9 million deficit.
The automated cameras, which issued more than 400,000 tickets between early September and mid November, will be taken offline immediately from most of Nassau’s 56 school districts, officials said. Outstanding fines will still need to be paid.
Monday’s 19-0 vote came after nearly four hours of public comment, most in support of the repeal, according to published reports.
County lawmakers also proposed legislation to make up for a projected $30 million in revenues lost a result of the appeal, which is planned for discussion next month.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said last week the repealed cameras would likely result in spending cuts and not new taxes.
Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) supported Mangano’s position on no new taxes while speaking to reporters following the vote. “There will be no raise in taxes. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again,” she said.
The school speed-zone-camera program was approved in June with a 19-0 vote from the Legislature but was quickly met with complaints from constituents about inconsistencies with speed limits and its hours of operation.
Mangano, a Republican, granted amnesty for more than 40,000 tickets issued over the summer after fines were generated in error from five camera locations. The program was temporarily suspended in late August and put back online just after Labor Day.
Democratic legislators in early November called for the county to suspend the program until a full rollout of the cameras could be conducted and each site could be equipped with flashing lights and proper signage.
“Thousands and thousands of residents have been unfairly hit with this charge, the flashing lights and signage was never installed,” Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport), the Legislature’s minority leader, told reporters after Monday’s vote.
Weeks later, the Legislature’s Republican majority drafted legislation for an immediate repeal of the program, which was met with support from the minority caucus.
The proposal was first announced on Dec. 8, shortly after Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone held a news conference announcing the county would abandon its school speed zone camera program, which was set to be rolled out in 2015.
The school speed-zone cameras will be removed under an installation contract with the Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions. Termination fees for the contract, Gonsalves said last week, would total about $2 million.
In a news release Tuesday, Legislator Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury), who represents the 16th district, lamented the program’s rollout during the summer, when she said many motorists were unaware schools had ongoing programs, and that the county did not amend the program before putting it back online in September.
“My final thought on the program is that it was extremely flawed. However, speeding is a serious problem and the statistics proved that,” Jacobs said. “In my estimation, we must all be aware of the need to respect a school zone and to alter our driving as responsible residents.”
