A House subcommittee has approved a bill to ban the red light and speed cameras throughout the state of Iowa Wednesday.
The transportation subcommittee moved the bill forward to the full House Transportation committee and many legislators think the bill has a good chance of being passed.
Though many find the cameras to be a hassle, Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba says the save lives. According to the mayor, fatal accidents and crashes at the intersections that contain the cameras have reduced by 24%.
The other issue that comes from the camera ban would be the loss of revenue that the cameras provide. Mayor Gluba says though the cameras were never put in place for revenue, they do provide $700,000 to the police department. That money currently pays for overtime in the department – an expense that is not going away.
“There is still going to be overtime so somebody’s going to pay. And I’ll tell you who that somebody is, the property tax owners” the mayor says.
If the bill is passed, it will be in effect July 1st.
