Bellingham leaders propose delay of red-light, school-zone cameras

JARED PABEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - Mayor Dan Pike's administration wants to hold off installing red-light and speed-zone cameras until lawsuits challenging other cities' programs are settled.

A budget task force proposed installing the cameras, saying they would make streets safer and would raise revenue for city government.

But the mayor didn't include it in his proposed 2010 city budget, opting to wait until the "legal dust settles" and the city knows how much it can fine people, said David Webster, the city's chief administrator officer.

"I think that's probably a wise move," said Dave Breskin, a Seattle attorney involved in one proposed class-action lawsuit. "I think there's very serious questions about the way the other cities have done it."

Three lawsuits are challenging various cities' red-light camera programs:

• A class-action lawsuit filed in June in King County Superior Court alleges that 19 cities are fining violators more than state law allows. The lawsuit was filed by Bainbridge Island-based Williamson and Williams Lawyers, and Seattle-based Bowler Law Office.

• A class-action lawsuit filed in June in King County Superior Court (since moved to U.S. District Court) challenges the programs of 20 cities. Filed by Seattle-based Rosen Law Firm and Seattle-based Breskin, Johnson and Townsend law firm, the suit challenges various aspects of the programs, saying some of them deny people their due-process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

• A class-action lawsuit filed in July in Grant County Superior Court challenging Moses Lake's red-light and speed-zone camera program.

The Legislature passed a law in 2005 allowing cities to install the red-light and speed-zone cameras. The law says fines from the cameras "shall not exceed the amount of a fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction."

One question is whether that means a fine for an expired meter ticket, which in Bellingham is $10, or a ticket for parking illegally in a disabled spot, which is $250. The courts will decide what the Legislature meant.

Sam Taylor contributed to this report.