COUNCIL BLUFFS — At least two Council Bluffs officials don't want the Iowa Legislature to move forward with a bill that would ban automated cameras that help enforce traffic laws.
"To remove them would be a detriment from a public safety standpoint," City Finance Director Art Hill said Friday.
An Iowa House committee Thursday endorsed legislation that would prevent cities from installing the cameras and require communities that already have them — like Council Bluffs — to remove them by July.
The bill now goes to the full House.
These cameras reduce accidents, Hill said.
From 2002 to 2004, before the cameras were installed, the city had about 3,800 accidents a year, Hill said. "In 2009 and 2010, after the cameras were installed, we had just 700 accidents per year."
Assistant City Attorney Don Bauermeister, who deals with violators who appeal tickets, also opposes the ban.
"It's a great idea to keep the cameras," he said. "It prevents injuries and accidents."
Those caught running a red light at a camera-monitored intersection in Council Bluffs pay a $100 fine. Hill said the city receives between $700,000 to $800,000 annually from these fines.
If approved by the full House, the ban bill would move to the Senate. The majority leader of the Senate, Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs, said he prefers to wait and see the final House version before making any decision on his vote. But he seemed to be leaning toward Council Bluffs' position.
"It has reduced crashes in the state," Gronstal said of the cameras. "I tend to be supportive of the red-light cameras."
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