Modesto Bee | ModBee.com News May 23, 2016 5:42 PM Decision expected on Modesto red light cameras City suspended use two years ago, citing lack of staff to review evidence Top city officials, including police chief, expect to discuss cameras’ future soon Chief concerned about traffic safety, having fewer officers for enforcement 1 of 4 A red light camera is pictured Monday, May 23, 2016, at Standiford Avenue and Sisk Road in Modesto, Calif. A decision will soon be made on what to do with the cameras that have been turned off for the past two years. Joan Barnett Lee jlee@modbee.com By Kevin Valine kvaline@modbee.com Two years after turning off its red light cameras, Modesto soon could decide whether it wants to turn them back on or get rid of them for good. Police Chief Galen Carroll said he plans to meet with City Manager Jim Holgersson and Mayor Ted Brandvold to talk about the cameras after Modesto finishes putting together its budget for its 2016-17 fiscal year, which starts July 1, and Mayor Ted Brandvold’s 100-day budget review committee completes its work next month. Modesto has contracted with Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems since 2004 for the cameras, which are installed at several major intersections and recorded drivers running red lights. “I will have a conversation with the mayor and the city manager regarding Redflex and the direction the city would like to take regarding how we enforce traffic violations in our city,” Carroll said in an email. ADVERTISING Carroll is concerned about traffic safety because his department has nearly 24 percent fewer officers than it had eight years ago and they have less time for traffic enforcement. For instance, police issued 13.2 percent fewer citations last year compared with 2014 (11,660, down from 13,199) and saw the number of traffic accidents increase 11.7 percent, according to a department report. Police also have said the cameras made a positive difference. But many drivers don’t like them. The Bee reported in October 2013 that red light camera tickets cost $490, which included court fees. The tickets cost the same if issued by an officer, and officials have said Modesto collects about a fifth of the cost of the ticket. Stockton got rid of its Redflex cameras more than a year ago after its Police Department concluded the cameras had not significantly reduced traffic collisions, officer and department spokesman Joe Silva said in an email last year. Modesto and Redflex agreed to suspend the cameras for six months in May 2014, then an additional six months in October 2014 and then on a month-to-month basis starting in May 2015, with the provision the suspension would end if the city and Redflex entered into a new agreement or the city decided to end the program. Carroll has said Modesto did this in part because his department did not have the staff to review the cameras’ videos and pictures to determine whether to issue a citation. “Redflex stands ready to once again administer Modesto’s successful traffic safety camera program,” Communications and Legislative Affairs Director Michael Cavaiola said in an email. “We are confident we can work with city leaders to reach an agreement to turn the cameras back on as soon as they’d like to.” Police officials brought a five-year contract extension before the City Council in May 2015 that called for better cameras for less money. But council members had questions officials were not prepared to answer and asked them to bring the matter back at a later date. Modesto had been paying Redflex $271,584 annually when the cameras were operating and would have paid $163,200 under the contract extension. But a Southern California government watchdog who monitors red light cameras across the state emailed council members, saying this was not a good deal. The cameras are supposed to be cost-neutral, meaning the payments the city receives from Superior Court for the red light citations should cover what it pays Redflex. But police officials said in May 2015 that the city could not determine whether the cameras truly were cost-neutral because the payments did not break out the red light citations. Silva wrote in his email that Stockton determined that its cameras were not cost-neutral. Kevin Valine: 209-578-2316 News