Raleigh City Council will likely revisit red-light cameras

Leaders voted 4-3 not to extend the city's contract with ACS Xerox when it ends Sept. 30. The measure required five votes to pass, because Mayor Charles Meeker recused himself because his law firm represented ACS in the past on an unrelated matter.

Councilman Eugene Weeks, who voted against the measure, said Wednesday that the SafeLight Program, which has placed cameras at intersections throughout the city since 2003, is saving lives and that he had no intention of killing the program.

He said that he only wanted further information about how the city determines where to place the cameras.

The SafeLight program operates cameras at 15 Raleigh intersections. The devices record vehicles that enter an intersection after a traffic light turns red. Citations are then sent to the vehicle's registered owner.

The city doesn’t pay for the program, and the $50 fines collected benefit the Wake County Public School System.

Council members John Odom and Bonner Gaylord also voted against renewing the contract. Odom said he did not like the program. Gaylord cited concerns about privacy and possible confusion about whether the driver being cited for running a red light is the same person who owns the vehicle.