WATERLOO REGION — Broken red light cameras are responsible for about one-third of an $890,000 deficit the Region of Waterloo rang up in the first four months of the year.

According to a staff report received by councillors Tuesday, revenue from red light camera tickets was about $267,000 lower than expected by the end of April.

"It's a concern that staff are addressing and hopefully the technical problems will be cleared up so that this is really an enforcement issue as opposed to a revenue issue," Coun. Tom Galloway said.

Eight of the region's 16 cameras were broken or removed because of road construction and bad weather.

The cameras are triggered by "detector loops" installed in the asphalt, said Phil Bauer, acting director of transportation.

It those loops are removed or broken, the cameras won't work.

"The loops at six locations were damaged as a result of severe cold and frost action during January and February 2014," Bauer said. "In two locations, the loops were damaged but the surrounding asphalt was in reasonable condition."

Those were replaced in May when the mild weather allowed for road work.



View Red light camera locations in Waterloo Region in a larger map Story continues below map. "In the other cases, the asphalt was also damaged by frost and the loops cannot be reinstalled until the asphalt is replaced," Bauer said.

That work is expected later this summer.

Two cameras were removed in the second half of 2013 because of road construction and will be replaced when it's complete.

A Record analysis of red light camera tickets in September showed red light tickets were down 33 per cent in 2013, compared to the 2012 pace.

In 2012, the region brought in more than $2 million in red light ticket revenues, up from $1.6 million in 2011.

Galloway said the region won't add cameras to make more money.

"We do budget certain amounts of money and if we don't achieve those amounts it does affect the bottom line but it doesn't mean, because we aren't achieving our revenues, that we'll double up on the number of cameras in order to get our revenues up," he said.

Other provincial offence revenues are down more than $400,000 and staff predict those revenues along with red light tickets could run a deficit of up to $1.6 million by the end of the year.

The region's budgeted expenditures for 2014, excluding police, are about $100.2 million.

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