The $30 fee was tacked on to all red light tickets in the county.
A bill passed by the Suffolk County Legislature earlier this month ends an additional $30 administration fee to red light camera tickets. The bill, introduced by Legislator Rob Trotta (R) is expected to be signed into law and will take effect in 2023.
The bill passed with a 12-6 vote, which protects the bill from being vetoed by the County Executive.
Trotta did not mince words on his feelings about the fee in a statement released by the Suffolk County Legislature.
“With Suffolk County having the worst financial outlook out of all 62 counties, it seems that this illegal fee not only bilked thousands of people but did not improve the county’s finances at all,” said Trotta. “It was nothing but a back-door tax on residents, hidden behind claims of improving public safety.”
The use of red light cameras in the county was authorized in 2009 and the first cameras were implemented by 2010.
A study commissioned by the administration in 2017 found that crashes increased by 60% between two study periods (pre-enforcement and post-enforcement) of the red light camera program at 100 locations with the camera installed from 3,515 pre-enforcement to 5,612 post-enforcement. The number of crashes that involved fatalities was unchanged although because fatal car accidents are statistically rare the authors said this data was difficult to forecast. In its conclusion, the authors of the study did say that they found a correlation between the red light camera program and a reduction in the severity of crashes at the studied sites.
Reducing the financial strain on residents was one of the tenets of the Republican party that has control of the legislature, said Suffolk County Presiding Officer Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R).
“When we took control of this legislature, one of my promises as Presiding Officer was to look at this program with new eyes and find a better way to improve the county’s finances through good government and smarter spending, instead of putting the burden on the taxpayers,” said McCaffrey. “Legislator Trotta’s bill is a huge step in that direction.”
