RED LIGHT CAMERAS

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This Page is Culver City Documents - Set # 7

Updated 3-7-10:
The Contracts

The Current Contract, and Amendment

CULVER CITY'S EARLY CONTRACTS (SEE DETAILS FURTHER DOWN THIS PAGE) WERE SIGNED BEFORE 1-1-04, SO WERE GRANDFATHERED UNDER THE TERMS OF CVC 21455.5(G)(2).  HOWEVER, IN 2007 CULVER CITY SIGNED A NEW CONTRACT (WHICH IT AMENDED, IN DEC. 2009).

 FROM THE CONTRACT* SIGNED WITH REDFLEX ON 3-28-07:

 EXHIBIT "B"

Compensation

 Commencing on the date of execution of this agreement, Customer shall be obligated to pay Redflex a fixed fee of $4,150 per month for each Designated Intersection Approach ("Fixed Fee") as full remuneration for performing all of the services contemplated in this agreement.

 All newly constructed red light camera systems beyond the existing twenty systems be [sic] charged at $6,030 per monitored approach.

 Both parties agree to review revenue and expenses quarterly.  If the revenue to Customer is less than operating expenses, parties will meet pursuant to Section 10, Dispute Resolution, to ASSURE that operational costs do not exceed program revenue generated to Customer.  [Emphasis added.] [This paragraph removed by Dec. 2009 amendment.]

 SECTION 10 (condensed)

 10.  DISPUTE RESOLUTION  Upon the occurrence of any dispute or disagreement between the parties hereto… the parties shall engage in informal, good faith discussions and attempt to resolve the Dispute….  If the parties are unable to resolve the Dispute in accordance with this Section 10… then the parties may mutually agree to submit to binding or nonbinding arbitration or mediation. [End of Dispute Resolution section.]

 SECTION 6 (portion, condensed)

 6.1  TERMINATION FOR CAUSE:  Either party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately by written notice to the other if… (iii) the other party commits any material breach of any of the provisions of this Agreement.

ABOUT THE AMENDMENT* SIGNED IN DEC. 2009:

The amendment removed the paragraph of Exhibit "B" which began "Both parties...."  

The effective date of the amendment is unclear.  Section 3 of the amendment says that it shall be effective on Dec. 1, but the document was not signed until sometime later - RedFlex signed it on Dec. 10, and the City signed it on the 15th.

*Please note that there could be a contract or amendment later than the ones linked here.

Previous Contracts

1999 Contract

On Oct. 2, 2003 I received from the city clerk a certified copy of a 2002 contract between Culver City and its red light camera vendor Traffic Safety Systems, a subsidiary of Redflex.  The contract was effective as of Mar. 28, 2002.  Here are some excerpts.


From page 1:
"WHEREAS, the... system... has successfully decreased accidents by 46% at the Culver City intersections equipped with the Systems;"

From page 2:
"At intersections where the Systems are installed, Traffic Safety shall insure that yellow change intervals are maintained in accordance with accepted traffic engineering and safety standards as set forth by the California Department of Transportation Traffic Manual..."  (Emphasis added.)

"Traffic Safety shall... operate the existing seven (7) Systems, consisting of fifteen (15) approaches, at the traffic intersections chosen and approved by the Police Chief, (specifically, at the intersections of Washington and La Cienega; Green Valley Circle and Sepulveda; Machado and Jefferson >(sic); Washington and Beethoven; Duquesne and Jefferson; Slauson and Buckingham; and Cota and Jefferson), and shall securely install... at least ten (10) additional Systems at not less than four (4) traffic intersections to be selected by the Police Chief."  [Editor's note - daffynitions of terms:  While the contract doesn't define the term, an "approach" is believed to consist of enforcement against traffic moving just one way on just one of the intersecting streets at an intersection.  Thus, a typical intersection could have up to four approaches, although most in Culver City just have two.  The meaning of the term "Systems" is unclear - sometimes it has been used to mean the same as "intersection" while at other points in the contract it seems to be used as a synonym for "approach."] 

"The agreement shall continue... five (5) years after the effective date...."

"All Systems... shall remain at all times the exclusive property of Traffic Safety."

From page 4:
" ...Traffic Safety shall receive... for each fine... successfully collected... $40.00...."

"In addition to the Per-Citation Payment, City shall pay a monthly fee of $2347.10 for each functioning approach...."  [Editor's note:  Also see "Missing from the contract," below.]

From page 5:
"Appeals.  In the event  the System... or the citations themselves... are... contested in the appellate division of any court....  Traffic Safety shall pay 50% of any and all reasonable costs..."

From page 8:
"Product Ownership.  The documentation, reports, and work materials prepared by Traffic Safety for the City... including... all data... shall be and shall remain the property of City."

From page 12:
"...Traffic Safety will provide.... The technology... to include the cameras, radar, flash and computers...."

From page 13:
"...Traffic Safety will provide.... Statistical recap and recapture ratios on a weekly basis."

Missing from the contract:
While the city has obligated itself to pay Traffic Safety $56,330.40 annually, or $281,652.00 over the 5-year contract term (see page 4, above), for a typical (two-approach) intersection, the contract doesn't specify a procedure whereby the city can request the removal of a camera that is a poor producer of tickets.  (In 2002, the City kept $80.00 per conviction, so needed two convictions per day per typical intersection in order to break even.  By 2004 the City's share had risen to approximately $111 - see FAQ #16 - so it needed 1.4 convictions per day.)