Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Math problem

Let's say these cameras issue 1000 tickets per year at $100 each. That's $100,000 of which we get $25,000. Let's say 75% of the tickets end up getting paid. That's like $18,750, right.


Nice income.



What amount is needed to help the budget shortfall?


A cool million or so?



What is the point of this conversation?



Please - tell me.

Response

Tory, I don't see how there's not a direct correlation between red light running, not stopping at a stop sign, speeding in a neighborhood.

All are safety violations and all are issues here in Pickerington. All would generate revenue and all would ''technically'' reduce the need for more officers. All would be monitored through technology.

It's not an all or nothing, but I want to know if there is any limit to the amount of monitoring we are willing to accept.

I agree drivers today appear to obey the laws less and to be driving more aggressively. I also agree we have some BIG issues here in Pickerington but it's definitely not restricted to red-light running by any means.

What I'm concerned about is if we put these cameras in and suddenly we see a spike in rear-end accidents coming up to the intersection. Did we really solve anything or just move the problem to a different location? We didn't reduce the need for officers, we just moved them a few feet in a different direction.

I think your neighbor scenario is a pretty big stretch in relation to the discussion but I'll respond.

As far as taking a picture of someone fleeing from my house after committing a robbery. If you're a concerned neighbor trying to help a friend by snapping a picture at the scene of a crime I think that's great. Should we be alert to what's occurring in our neighborhood - without a doubt!

However, if you've got a video or still camera setup pointing at my house day and night waiting for something to happen, taking pictures of me and the wife working in the yard, kids playing ball, etc, YEAH I've got a BIG problem with that.



By Brian Wisniewski

Thanks and Sorry

Central Dad, thanks for the comments and sorry if you think I'm trying to pick a fight. I cannot tell you how much I'm NOT trying to fight over this issue.

Just because Jeff and I disagreed over last nights ordinance and the study doesn't mean we're fighting over this. I believe Jeff will agree.

I think many people associate Jeff and I with constantly fighting and in the past we have both contributed to that. However I feel our differences now are behind closed doors vs public. We won't see eye to eye on every ordinance but we attack it from the merits of the ordinance vs each other. We both made mistakes in the past with our public fights and we may still be paying for the sins of the past so to speak.

In relation to this issue we're both looking for data, just maybe at different times and in different ways. It doesn't mean one approach is better than the other.

I'm going to respond to questions asked of me surrounding this issue here on PATA. But any ribbing Jeff and I give each other here is purely in jest I hope. It's hard to portray light-hearted sarcasm in a web posting.

I'm going to talk to a lot of people about this issue and get a solid feeling of how the community feels. This is a rare case of going beyond just the data, especially if the data goes in 2 different directions.

What some of my postings today were trying to determine is - if we are going to do this I want to know if there is any limit to what our citizens will endure in the name of safety?

Thanks for the comments.



By Brian Wisniewski

A good debate

Man I was all excited to post something here about how refreshing it is to see the exchange of thoughts and concerns and ideas about an important issue and then ''Central Dad'' threw me under the bus. I'm sorry you didn't see fit to vote for me. I'm sorry you think I'm empty. I'm sorry you think I'm a tyrannical control freak. I think if you spoke to the people who work for the city you'd find they have quite a different opinion of me. I think if you want to say things like that you ought to have the guts to sign your name. It's unfortunate that this type of commentary can take a nice debate into the sewer. Way to step up Central Dad.

As for Brian and I, we agree on 95% of the business of the city and we have found a way to disagree on the other 5% without making it personal. We both learned some valuable lessons last year and I am hopeful that we will continue to have healthy debates on a variety of topics for years to come.