Capitol Media Services 2008

Other articles by Howard Fischer:

2 bishops urge OK of ballot ban on gay marriages Lawsuit could void photo-radar tickets Judge to keep hands off election-fund law, for nowBiz finances survived AZ smoking ban Phx. TV station wants to ease cameras' access to courtrooms Judge scraps part of Ariz. public-election law Affirmative-action foes give up on 2008 ballot Taxes collected in Arizona continue to shrink Attorney seeks end to public matching funds Judge stalls ballot mailing over Prop. 104

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PHOENIX — The contractor hired by state police for photo enforcement of traffic laws will be paid based on the number of people who pay their tickets.

The deal, made public Thursday, gives Redflex Traffic Systems $28.75 out of every $165 paid to the state for speeding.

The state actually could get a bigger chunk: One provision of the contract for 100 fixed and mobile cameras provides a volume discount, with Redflex taking only $16.95 per citation.

Plans are to have the first 50 cameras operating on Sept. 26.

State law sets the program's photo-enforcement citations at a flat $165, plus a 10 percent surcharge for Arizona's voter-mandated system of offering public funding to candidates for statewide and legislative offices. That means the actual fine for errant motorists will be $181.50.

A special law approved by the Legislature at the behest of Gov. Janet Napolitano will put all the net revenues into the state government's general fund. Proceeds from all other traffic citations normally go to the city or county where the ticket is issued.

Napolitano, in some early projections, figured Arizona would net $90 million by June 30, 2009.

This arrangement is a departure from the pilot project started last year, in which the Department of Public Safety simply paid Redflex a flat $3,940 per month to operate each of two vans. DPS Cmdr. Thomas Woodward said that change was done on purpose.

"The revenue stream from the citations will rise and fall with the cost of administrating the program," he said.

The new law also provides $4 million to the administrative office of the Arizona Supreme Court to deal with costs. Whether that will be shared with the city and justice courts that handle contested citations remains unclear.

The DPS has no idea how many citations will be issued, Woodward said.

The new law assumes that the state will pay $20 million to Redflex between late September and the end of the fiscal year next June 30. Napolitano's $90 million projection is based on the assumption of most people paying the tickets.

The idea of a price being linked to the number of paid citations is not unusual. Jay Heiler, a Redflex spokesman, said many of the contracts the company has with other communities, including several in Arizona, have similar provisions.

Heiler also said basing the fee on paid citations — versus tickets written — is fair for his company, the state and motorists, because there's no incentive to issue notices of violation in cases in which the driver's guilt is less than clear.

Heiler said citations will be mailed out even in cases when it's possible they will be ignored.

For example, if the vehicle is registered in the name of a business, that firm is not required to pay or provide the identity of the driver. But Heiler said Redflex still will mail the citation, because business owners might want to know that an employee was seen speeding.