MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — Mayfield Village police are still running its photo enforcement camera program even after an Ohio Supreme Court ruling saying it’s legal to cut state funding.
News 5 asked drivers, like Cherita Shaw, about it.
“I’m not a fan of them at all,” said Shaw. “It’s like a money machine at this point."
“There’s some legislative issues with it, again, that’s being reviewed by our law director,” said Mayfield Village Police Chief Paul Matias.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last month that lawmakers can reduce state funding by the amount of income generated. The move promoted cities with speed cameras to reassess their programs. But Mayfield thinks it’s on solid ground.
“The ruling clearly states you’re allowed to do the photo enforcement,” said Matias.
Matias says he doesn’t have data yet to show how effective his photo enforcement program is. It started last December with warnings issued first.
“I’m indifferent, completely indifferent,” said driver Barb Primozic. “Honestly I really don’t speed so it’s not an issue."
But between January and April of this year, Mayfield’s vendor collected more than $303,000 in fines. Mayfield’s share was just over $186,000.
“If it was designed to be a revenue generator, we would run it all day Monday through Sunday,” said Matias.
News 5 asked Matias if there would be any plans to expand the program beyond rush hour times.
“Not at this time, because the whole reason we’re looking at volume. When volume is down it’s much safer to do the roadside traffic stops,” said Matias.
Matias says a two-year review of ODOT traffic data showed a dramatic increase in dangerous speeding during rush hour. He wanted to supplement enforcement that was safer for officers.
“We wanted to target the worst of the worst,” said Matias.
Records from Mayfield show that 54% of the 4,800 tickets issued have been paid since January.
There were 20 unpaid tickets in that time frame that went to collections and five people had their tickets ruled not liable.
“It’s an open contract we can stop doing it any time we want,” said Matias.
News 5 asked Matias what the money is being used for.
Mayfield ordered four Dodge Chargers totaling just over $211,000 and a two-year lease and service for four automatic license plate readers for $21,000.
“Naturally our goal is to see the fines amount diminish as people drive more responsibly whether people believe that or not,” said Matias.
Matias says when the money's gone, they’ll find another revenue source.
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