I-Team: Will Newburgh Heights’ new mayor end the speed camera program?
NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — Newburgh Heights Mayor Trevor Elkins said he plans to fix issues with the speed camera program, but he does not plan to stop it.
The speed camera program pours millions of dollars into village coffers every year.
In the past year, however, the program has come under scrutiny. Last spring, the Garfield Heights Municipal Court judge found village officials breaking the law in the way they handled the tickets.
In November, the FOX 8 I-Team discovered 49,000 drivers got surprise notices about old tickets. Several drivers have contacted the I-Team saying they got tickets for vehicles that do not belong to them. Starting this week, dozens of drivers plan to have hearings in Garfield Heights Municipal Court contesting the tickets.
Elkins started the speed camera program as mayor about eight years ago. He then resigned as mayor in 2022, after he faced criminal charges tied to his campaign fund. In November, he was once again elected mayor. He started his new term Jan. 1.
“I will be restoring the people that should be running the program for administrative purposes to that role again,” Elkins said.
Former Mayor Gigi Traore removed Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy as administrator of the program last year. Elkins said Majoy and the village law director will now once again be overseeing the program.
Elkins and other Newburgh Heights village leaders claim the speed camera ticket program is designed to make the roads safer. The I-Team checked and found the number of crashes went up the past two years in the same area where a Newburgh Heights officer stands for hours with a speed camera.
State Sen. Tom Patton, however, argues the ticket program does not make the roads safer because speeding drivers are not stopped when they are going fast. The drivers do not receive the ticket for weeks.
Patton said he plans to introduce legislation this month that would make it tougher for small communities to have a speed camera program. Patton believes many communities have them so they can make money.
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“The village itself needs to look at other means of creating revenue,” Traore said.
She said drivers should not speed. She added the primary source of money for the village comes from speed camera fines.
“We have a lot of great opportunities here,” Traore said. “We can’t just be stuck on a traffic camera program.”
Elkins, however, has this message for those who don’t like the cameras:
“I get that you don’t like that, but you’re gonna have to live with it,” Elkins said. “I’m sorry people don’t want to follow the speed limit. That’s it.”
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