Vendor gets another chance to install red-light cameras

It'll be either two weeks or about six to seven months until red-light cameras will be operating in Naperville.

The City Council decided at Tuesday's meeting to give the vendor responsible for installing the cameras another extension before it finally pulls the plug on the three-year, $1 million contract. If the provisions are not met by the next council meeting - May 20 - it could take as long as seven months to have a new set of cameras operating along state roads in the city.

"My biggest concern was the threat of possible litigation against us," said Councilman Doug Krause, who agreed to the extension. "They said they met our criteria to have the red-light cameras up and running under the circumstances. So if we give them another two weeks to have the cameras operating, we can say we did everything we can. They can either perform or not perform."

City Manager Pro Tem Robert Marshall asked the council late last week to terminate the contract with Traffipax Inc. after continuous delays and persistent equipment failure. Cameras at Fort Hill Drive and Aurora Avenue and 95th Street and Book Road were supposed to be up and running in January and issuing tickets by March. Those $100 tickets have not yet been issued.

The city is counting on the revenue, too. An estimated $4.87 million is expected to be collected in fines and forfeitures this fiscal year, up almost 97 percent from last year's $2.57 million in the fund.

"We're still going to go forward and search for a vendor for the cameras along the state roads," Krause said. "My concern is not for the $2.4 million (in ticket revenue), but for the safety of our residents and the cameras along state roads should help."