City Council Seeks Uses for Speed Camera Revenue

The City of College Park has made a tidy sum in speed camera revenue. Now city officials must decide how they want to spend it.

The money comes with a couple of catches from the Attorney General. First, it can only be used to fund public safety initiatives – crosswalks, security cameras, etc. 

The other stipulation is that the city can only keep 10 percent of the revenue it generates throughout the fiscal year, including money made from speed cameras -- the rest goes to the comptroller. According to Director of Finance Stephen Groh, this means that any money made by the cameras between now and the end of June will likely not be seen by the city.

All in all, the city has pulled in $2.4 million of hasty driver’s money.  A large percentage of this cash pays the camera vendor for operational fees, as well as the community police officers responsible for processing the tickets. At the end of the day, the city has a ballpark figure of between $350,000 and $600,000 at its disposal, Groh said.

Though the final figures will ultimately determine what is possible and what is not, the council has a laundry list of ideas. 

Much of the council agrees that investing in the three volunteer fire departments that service College Park would be a worthwhile expenditure. Other suggestions proffered at Tuesday's meeting include building barriers for bike lanes, installing security cameras in College Park Woods and near the College Park Metro, and adding flashing lights and increased signage near cross-walks. 

Marcus Afzali (Dist. 4) suggested that the council consult the University of Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and the county police before becoming too attached to any particular plans.

“If we don’t at least ask them what they think would help the most in terms of public safety in the city, I think that would just be insane,” he said.

Though the speed cameras have proven plenty lucrative so far, revenue is expected to drop off. The city recently on three of the cameras, and traffic is generally slowing down as drivers tire of paying tickets.

“We expect and certainly hope that revenue from speed cameras is going to decline, so we can’t be thinking of sustainable programs,” said Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3). “This is sort of a one time pot of money.”

The council has until the end of June to determine how they want to use the funds, though some projects may require more planning then others. For example, any measures that involves Route 1 must first be cleared with the State Highway Administration, a process that history has proven may take months.

For now, city officials will work to compile a list of budget priorities, and plan to discuss their ideas with local safety officials, as well as their constituents, in the coming weeks.