JEFFERSON, La. -- Following through on an earlier threat, Jefferson Parish’s red light camera operator sued the parish this week for almost $5 million the company says it is owed under a deal that remains under investigation.
Claiming a breach of contract, Redflex Traffic Systems is asking for its share of the $20 million collected through the cameras system. Even the contract was signed in March 2007, money collected from fines was placed in escrow. In its lawsuit, the Arizona-based company says it has sent numerous invoices and demand letters but has never been paid.
“Redflex has spent the greater part of the last three years attempting to resolve the issue of non-payment from Jefferson Parish,” the company wrote in a press release accompanying the lawsuit.
The contract came under scrutiny when it was discovered that former New Orleans City Councilman Bryan Wagner helped broker the deal in exchange for 3.2 percent of the fines. The parish responded by launching an audit of the program and the competitive bid process in which Redflex beat out one other competitor, American Traffic Solutions.
Then the feds stepped in. As part of a sprawling federal investigation into Jefferson Parish contracts, the FBI subpoenaed the traffic camera paperwork along with stacks of other documents. The parish suspended the program in January and stopped collecting the fines.
Following the parish council’s unanimous approval of the contract, the first camera – at Veterans Boulevard and Clearview Parkway – was turned on in September 2007. After a month of issuing warnings, the parish began collecting fines and quickly expanded the program to 10 more intersections.
Early on, parish officials praised the cameras for cutting down on auto accidents, reducing speeding and freeing deputies to concentrate on more important crimes. But many motorists groaned about the $110 fines and eventually a class-action lawsuit was filed to contest the automated tickets.
In response to the lawsuit, the parish began placing the collected fines in escrow.
