YOUNGSTOWN — Unstaffed speed cameras along with automatic license plate readers will be operating in some school zones in Youngstown early next month.

Because many of the cameras are on back order, the city will roll out the program shortly after the equipment is installed in those school zones, said police Lt. Brian Welsh, head of the department’s accident investigation and traffic unit.

“We’ll start the program without all of the cameras installed” in each school zone, he said. “There will be a public awareness push, and every school zone gives people a 30-day warning period rather than a ticket.”

It remains uncertain when all of the enforcement equipment for the city’s 16 school zones will be ready because of supply-chain issues, Welsh said.

After the equipment and signs are installed, those caught by the unstaffed cameras going at least 6 mph over the 20 mph limit when school is in session will be mailed warnings during the first 30 days that speed enforcement goes live at a particular zone. After those 30 days, those going at least 6 mph over the limit will be mailed civil citations that carry penalties of $100 to $150, based on speed.

One of the first locations for the equipment should be Williamson Elementary School where poles for the cameras and signage are in place, Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, and chairwoman of the safety committee, said.

“Cars are already slowing down because of the work being done there,” said Davis, a retired Youngstown police officer. “That’s what you want.”

PLATE READERS

In addition to the speed cameras, the city’s contract with Blue Line Solutions of Chattanooga, Tenn., calls for free automatic license plate reader cameras at each of the camera locations, Welsh said.

The safety committee on Oct. 27 heard a presentation from officials with Flock Safety of Atlanta to sell license plate readers. While Davis supported the idea, Capt. Jason Simon, the police department’s head of detectives, said the $2,500-per-camera annual fee was cost prohibitive even if only 10 were purchased. Youngstown likely would need considerably more than 10 of them.

After that meeting, Davis said officials with Blue Line, which is installing the school speed cameras, informed the city that license plate readers also are included.

The city will get as many license plate readers as speed cameras under the Blue Line contract at no additional cost, Davis said.

There will be about 40 to 45 license plate readers, but only in the school zones where the speed cameras are located, Welsh said.

The city also can purchase additional license plate readers for other parts of Youngstown, which will be considered, Welsh said.

The cost of additional license plate readers needs to be negotiated with Blue Line.

Davis said she wants several license plate readers on Market Street.

The high-speed, computer-controlled license plate cameras are installed on street poles. The devices automatically capture photographs of the backs of cars and their license plates and can be used to solve crimes or help find missing people.

“We’re not paying anything more for these,” Davis said. “I think it’s terrific. I support anything that can help deter crime. It won’t stop it 100 percent, but it will reduce crime.”

Davis said she wants to balance the privacy of people with security and would ask that the photos on the license plate readers be deleted after 30 days.

SPEED CAMERAS

When the unmanned speed cameras are installed, the city will get 65 percent of the money collected from citations, with Blue Line receiving the remaining 35 percent.

Money collected from citations can be used only for school-safety resources, such as improvements to school zones and crosswalks near those buildings. Davis said she also wants to look at the possibility of paying for school crossing guards with the money.

An ordinance approved Nov. 15 by city council replaced an old speed-camera law that hadn’t been enforced for three years.

The previous law was established when the city’s police department used hand-held speed cameras, almost exclusively on Interstate 680 between South Avenue and Meridian Road, from August 2015 until November 2019.

The most significant change in the new law is the change to the speeding threshold.

The speed limit for school zones when lights are flashing is 20 mph while the limit was 50 mph on the section of I-680 where the police used the cameras. That was the main reason for changing the law, said police Chief Carl Davis.

Under the new law, those going at least 6 mph over the speed limit and up to 14 mph over it would face a civil penalty of $100. Those going 15 to 20 mph over the limit would face a $125 penalty and those traveling faster than 20 mph over the limit face a $150 penalty. They would not get points on their driving record for the civil citations.

The previous law was civil penalties of $100 for driving at least 11 mph over the speed limit, $125 for 12 to 19 mph over the limit and $150 for those driving at least 20 mph over the limit.

A study in April 2021 by Blue Line showed over a five-day period that 21.3 percent of motorists monitored in school zones traveled at least 11 mph over the speed limit.

When the state Legislature in 2019 changed the law that reduced a community’s Local Government Fund allocation by the amount it collected in speed camera penalties, Youngstown phased them out.

The law permits money collected from citations in school zones nopt to count toward reductions in LGF. Those fees can only be used for school-safety resources under state law.

The city ended the police speed-camera program because the money collected was exclusively for police equipment purchases and to pay for officers on that duty, who did so on overtime at time and a half. LGF money goes into the city’s general fund and can be used to fund several departments.

dskolnick@vindy.com