Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s proposal to double the number of speed cameras in the county would add six jobs to the county payroll at an additional cost of $430,00 a year.
And changes in Maryland law would mean that sworn police officers would have to devote part of their workday to signing off on the $40 tickets generated by the cameras before they were sent out, county staff said.
The six proposed new employees — a senior financial specialist, three traffic enforcement technicians, one principal administrative aide and one office services manager — will join 25 other county personnel already assigned to the county’s speed camera program if Leggett’s proposal is approved by the county council.
The total personnel costs would be $1.7 million a year.
Those costs would be borne by the revenues the cameras bring in. Leggett is expecting that the increase in the number of fixed cameras from 30 to 60 would bring in nearly $29 million the next fiscal year, $15.8 million of which would be net gains the county could spend on public safety initiatives.
The speed cameras have vocal opponents, who say they are “backdoor” taxes on county residents and others who drive through the county. But Leggett and other advocates say they are an effective tool to slow speeders down while bringing in much-needed revenue.
The Maryland General Assembly recently passed legislation allowing the use of speed cameras in work and school zones statewide. The legislation also requires that starting Oct. 1 a sworn police officer approve any citation before it is mailed to a car owner, a job currently done in Montgomery County by nonsworn staff.
Chevy Chase Village, which operates four speed cameras on Connecticut Avenue that take a total of about 150 pictures of possible speeders a day and fine drivers $40, would have to hire a new police officer to satisfy the new requirement, according to Police Chief Roy Gordon. He said a new officer would cost the village about $85,000 a year in salary, benefits and training costs.
