All right, residents of Rochester, New York, better pay attention on this one because your city council just stabbed you in the back and decided to put in traffic cameras. Cameras will be active at somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty intersections around the area, and the revenue they’re slated to make will be somewhere in the neighborhood of three and a half million dollars in their first year, enough to cover the costs of the program and then some.

But lest you think this is some kind of colossal cash grab for the city of Rochester, think again, sez Mayor Robert Duffy.  This was the story from the city:

Mayor Robert Duffy has downplayed any windfall for the city, noting that the five-year contract with Redflex has the city paying the company $3,740 per camera per month, and that Monroe County also will be paid for access to the intersection signal boxes, which it controls.

Lessee…fifty cameras, $3740 per camera per month to Redflex, which interestingly enough is headquartered in Arizona, meaning a whole lot of money’s going to go out of Rochester and into Arizona.  A hundred and eighty seven grand that first month…heeeyyyy…wait a second!

Didn’t they say they expected this to pull down three and a half million?  But they’re going to pay out a two million, two hundred twenty four grand?

Gosh, I guess in Rochester,  a piddly seven hundred fifty six thousand dollars just doesn’t count as a windfall….

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2. Barrington Not Installing Red Light Cameras
3. Red Light Cameras Could Balance Jefferson Parish’s Budget
4. Red Light Cameras Gain Ground Elsewhere–Add Extra Fines
5. San Franciscan Drivers Hate Red Light Cameras