… Council to weigh additions at next meeting …

baltimoresun.com

By Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun

7:37 PM EST, January 5, 2012

Baltimore County could add seven more speed cameras and seven new red-light cameras later this year.

At a work session scheduled for Tuesday, County Council members are set to discuss a new seven-year contract with ACS State & Local Solutions, whose current contract expires in February.

Details of the contract were released Thursday in a notes package sent to council members, who must approve the proposed agreement. According to the document, ACS could be compensated more than $9.1 million over seven years.

Under the company’s existing contract, the county operates 15 speed cameras and eight red-light cameras.

The proposed contract would increase that to 22 speed cameras and 15 red light cameras. The police department would determine locations for the cameras.

The new speed cameras would go live within five months of the contract starting.

The contract also would allow an additional 18 cameras to be installed within the next seven years.

The county’s first few speed cameras went live in the spring of 2010. The number of speed cameras was initially limited to 15, but last year, the County Council voted along party lines to allow an unlimited number of the devices in school zones.

ACS was the only company to bid, according to documents provided to the council.

The speed cameras are activated when a driver goes 12 mph or more above the speed limit. Violators get a $40 ticket. Drivers who run red lights are fined $75.

The contract has an initial five-year term, with two one-year renewal options.