ST. PETERS • Mayor Len Pagano says a proposed St. Charles County charter amendment aimed at junking his city's red-light cameras could spur a lengthy court battle.

"There is the strong potential for litigation," Pagano warned in a letter to County Councilman Joe Brazil, the amendment's sponsor.

"You may be raising serious constitutional questions that may take several years and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to answer."

Pagano said his city "and other interested parties at the local and state level and in the private sector" will carefully scrutinize any actions taken by the county that "restrict municipalities' roles and responsibilities."

Pagano in an interview said that those parties could include Redflex Traffic Systems, the Arizona company which runs the cameras for St. Peters, and other cities concerned about restrictions on their rights to enact ordinances on various issues.

In response, Brazil in an interview said attorneys for the county believe the proposed charter amendment is on sound ground. "He's way off base," Brazil, R-Defiance, said of the mayor. "We have every legal right."