Local
Plan to use speed camera funds to buy fire, rescue gear gets OK
By: Kathleen Miller
Examiner Staff Writer
January 1, 2009
A Maryland assistant attorney general says a Montgomery County proposal to use speed camera money to buy fire and rescue apparatus is legal, clearing the way for an alternate plan to charging ambulance fees to fund local fire department needs.
Montgomery Council President Phil Andrews proposed legislation last month to use money from the county’s speed camera program to purchase new emergency apparatus for the county’s fire and rescue department and pay for pedestrian and traffic safety programs.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett strongly objected to the measure, saying it would take money from existing programs and increase the budget shortfall, unlike his proposal to fund new fire and rescue equipment by charging insurance companies and non-residents $300 to $800 in ambulance transport fees.
Some Leggett aides also questioned whether Andrews’ proposal was legal, saying their reading of the state law that allows Montgomery County to use speed cameras barred using the funds to supplant existing county expenditures.
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Rowe said in a letter released Wednesday that Andrews proposal is legal.
“The fire and safety expenditure is not directed to ongoing costs that are already covered by the County, but to the purchase of new equipment,” Rowe wrote. “It is my understanding that this would not supplant any current County expenditure.”
Andrews said he wasn’t surprised by Rowe’s findings.
“Our lawyers are good bill drafters,” he told The Examiner. “They check the law before they draft them. We were confident it was in compliance with state law, but it is good to have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that it’s in accordance with state law.”
The bill calls for 50 percent of the roughly $10 million in annual revenue coming from red light and speed cameras to be used to purchase new fire engines, ladder trucks and ambulances, 35 percent of the revenues to fund pedestrian safety programs and 15 percent to go to traffic safety pursuits.
Leggett’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Montgomery Council President Phil Andrews proposed legislation last month to use money from the county’s speed camera program to purchase new emergency apparatus for the county’s fire and rescue department and pay for pedestrian and traffic safety programs.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett strongly objected to the measure, saying it would take money from existing programs and increase the budget shortfall, unlike his proposal to fund new fire and rescue equipment by charging insurance companies and non-residents $300 to $800 in ambulance transport fees.
Some Leggett aides also questioned whether Andrews’ proposal was legal, saying their reading of the state law that allows Montgomery County to use speed cameras barred using the funds to supplant existing county expenditures.
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Rowe said in a letter released Wednesday that Andrews proposal is legal.
“The fire and safety expenditure is not directed to ongoing costs that are already covered by the County, but to the purchase of new equipment,” Rowe wrote. “It is my understanding that this would not supplant any current County expenditure.”
Andrews said he wasn’t surprised by Rowe’s findings.
“Our lawyers are good bill drafters,” he told The Examiner. “They check the law before they draft them. We were confident it was in compliance with state law, but it is good to have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that it’s in accordance with state law.”
The bill calls for 50 percent of the roughly $10 million in annual revenue coming from red light and speed cameras to be used to purchase new fire engines, ladder trucks and ambulances, 35 percent of the revenues to fund pedestrian safety programs and 15 percent to go to traffic safety pursuits.
Leggett’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
More from Kathleen Miller
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