In the past few years, significant reductions in state and county aid to Takoma Park have left the city with fewer reliable revenue sources and tough budget decisions. But in this uncertain economic climate, Takoma Park’s speed cameras have emerged as a vital and, so far, consistent source of funding for public safety projects. More than two years after a 2009 state law outlined rules for speed camera enforcement, the city has used the money to pay for the purchase of police protective equipment, the construction of new sidewalks and the installation of in-car police cameras, said City Manager Barbara Burns Matthews. “It’s about the only place we had to turn over the last few years for making up for other revenue we lost from the state and the county,” said Mayor Bruce Williams, who started his third term last week. “And so it was nice to be able substitute that money into places where it made sense to.” In the run-up to November’s citywide election, Williams and other candidates pointed to cuts in state highway user revenues and county tax-duplication payments as an ongoing budget challenge for the city. In 2010, for the first time ever, Takoma Park laid off city employees. Outgoing Ward 2 council member Colleen Clay cited the speed cameras as a key future revenue source during a candidate’s forum in October. “This council didn’t do a lot to program that money. We didn’t know if the speed cameras would stop bringing in money because people would stop speeding. The answer to that question is no, and so there is stability of that income now,” Clay said. “I think if I were moving on in council, I would be more forward about making more commitments with that funding than I had been in the past couple years.” The city, which has a population of about 17,000, collected nearly $1.74 million in speed camera fines from five cameras from July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, according to its speed-monitoring system report to the state. The city netted $898,018 in revenue after administrative costs, which included expenses from ACS Solutions, the independent vendor that operates the system. The city made more than $1.28 million from speed-camera fines from July 2009 through June 2010. 750ml Stainless Steel Liverpool Football Club Pattern Water Jug with Key Chain for Outdoor (Red) china cell phone Zenithink ZT-180 10.2 inch Google Android 2.1 Gravity Sensor ePad Tablet Silver 2.2 inch 9800+ Analog TV FM Tri Cards QWERTY Keyboard Cell Phone(Black) Superpad P752 Flytouch III Google Android 2.2 7 inch 1080P Video Resistive Screen eReader Tablet PC Durable High Quality Multi-pocket Shoulder-handing Outdoor Bag (Army Green) JF105 1W LED Water Resistant Headlamp 2.2 inch C6 Analog TV FM Dual Cards Cell Phone(Silver) Practical 2PCS Frog Style 2-LED Super Bright Red Light Bicycle Safety Warning Light Rear Flashing Light - Red led wrist watch G1000 Dual Band Dual Cards One Camera FM Super Big Keyboard Cell Phone for the elderly(Black) Fashionable MINGBO Numerals & Strips Hour Marks Leather Quartz Wrist Watch for Men M027 (Black Dial) Ipod Video Classic superpad 745 flytouch iii 7 inch UV400 Protection Black Grey PC Lens Sports Sunglasses for Outdoors - 9105 H200 Quad Band Dual Cards with Android 2.2 Wifi GPS Analog TV Touch Screen Smart Phone (White) 4 in 1 Portable and Practical Tyre Repair Kit 2.0 inch X10 Analog TV FM Dual Cards Cell Phone(Red) 10 in 1 Hunt Army Camp Hiking Survival Tool for Outdoor Sports Durable 360 Degree Rotatable Torch Adjustable Small Size Mount Holder Bracket Flashlight Handlebar for Bike Bicycle (Black) Stylish Kimio 6 Arabic Numerals Hour Marks Stainless Steel Quartz Wrist Watch for Female 451 (White) One-Point Elastic Bungee Tactical Rifle unlocked phones wholesale Exquisite Round Case Mickey Wrist Watch 7316 (Red) UV400 Protective White Dark Green Optical Glass Lenses Sunglasses for Outdoors - RB2140-1048 unlocked cell phone sale 2273 UV400 Protection Black Colored Mirrored PC Lens Sports Sunglasses for Running, Swimming Exquisite Quartz Wrist Watch with Purple Watchband & Water On The Case W9970 dreambox+500s+mainboards Chic Sinobi 9313 Square White Dial Leather Wristband Wrist Watch with Roman Numerals Hour Marks for Men - Black Sunflower Rounded Stainless Steel Kids' Women's Electronic Wrist Watch (White) uf-2100 HY118 Windows XP/LINUX 11.6 inch Wide Screen 160G Mini Notebook Silver M701 7 inch Google Android 1.988 Panel PC Silver 4.3 inch Android 2.3 A9191 Wifi GPS Dual Cards Capacitive Touch Screen Smartphone (Gray) On Oct. 15, Takoma Park began issuing citations from a sixth speed camera on East-West Highway. Some drivers have questioned the system’s legitimacy. Rona Elias, a Columbia resident who commutes to Washington, D.C., twice per week, received one of 2,889 violations the city’s northbound New Hampshire Avenue camera caught from Oct. 1 to Nov. 22. A police officer assigned to review each image disapproved 192 of those violations, each of which costs the driver $40, according to state law. “It makes me wonder how accurate they are, because you really can’t challenge it,” said Elias, who since August 2010 has received four speed-camera tickets from the city. “You can't ask a police officer when the radar gun was calibrated or know when the camera was checked.” Elias appealed her third violation, which came in June when the northbound New Hampshire Avenue camera caught her traveling 51 mph in a 35 mph zone, and a judge reduced her fine to $20. As part of the 2009 state law, drivers traveling 12 mph or faster above the speed limit in 35 mph zones are subject to the fine. “It's manipulative,” Elias said. “I'm all for people that are trying to raise revenue, but sometimes cities or different townships may look at incorporating something else.” Takoma Park officials maintain safety is their primary objective, and they say cameras are placed only in locations where speeding is prevalent. State law requires any revenue to be used strictly for public safety purposes, including pedestrian safety purposes. “Since we’ve had the cameras, personal injury, property damage and pedestrian accidents have been reduced on New Hampshire Avenue and University Boulevard, our two biggest target areas,” said Takoma Park Police Chief Ronald Ricucci. “From my perspective, the cameras have been successful at that.” It’s less clear if the cameras have had much of an effect on speeding, a development that helps the city’s bottom line. Ricucci said the Ethan Allen Avenue cameras, on each side of the two-lane road, have made a significant dent in speeding there. But he also said the number of violations on New Hampshire Avenue and University Boulevard, the city’s major arteries, has remained consistent, even as the number of daytime violations from commuters familiar with the roads has decreased. There were 6,530 approved violations from Oct. 1 until Nov. 22 at all six speed camera locations, according to Burns Matthews, including 515 from the new East-West Highway camera. Although not all citations are paid, the cameras are providing the city’s budget with a much-needed shot in the arm. Ward 3 council member Kay Daniels-Cohen didn’t shy away from that reality after Clay brought it up in October. “What I would be in favor of is another speed camera some place, maybe a couple of them, because there are a lot of dollars,” Daniels-Cohen said. “As council member Clay said, nobody has stopped speeding. They keep doing it, and we keep making money from it.”