OHIO
by Perry Schaible, WKRC
February 9th 2017
NEW MIAMI, Ohio (WKRC) – A judge says the placement of stationary traffic cameras wasn’t fair to drivers and now a local community has to pay back $3 million in fines.
It’s a controversial battle over unmanned cameras.
Stationary traffic cameras are already a thing of the past ever since a judge decided they were unconstitutional back in 2014.
Controversy still surrounds the use.
The village of New Miami has to pay back drivers for fines collected for nearly two years while the cameras were in place.
In a ruling handed down on Wednesday, Judge Michael Oester said the money paid to the village gave it an unfair advantage at the expense of speeders.
So now the village has to return the money paid by drivers involved in a class action lawsuit.
That’s a total of about $3 million.
Nearly 45,000 people were cited in 15 months.
The cameras were primarily placed on US 127, a major highway that runs through the village.
Police there said the cameras were never for making money, but ensuring safety.
The village will likely appeal the decision.
New Miami officers now use hand-held cameras to comply with state laws that require an officer to be present when camera enforcement is used.