The Leon County Commission is considering an ordinance for school speed zone cameras which will put them in line with the city of Tallahassee and its $100 fines, and drivers in the unincorporated area can expect similar fines if the county ordinance passes.
At their upcoming Oct. 14 meeting, the commission will have their first and only public hearing for the ordinance.
Last May the city adopted a similar ordinance and in June voted unanimously to enter into a five-year contract with RedSpeed Florida LLC, a traffic control company. The city’s ordinance came after lawmakers passed a related measure (HB 657) that was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The first school zones with the city have recently activated – with more to follow. The proposed county ordinance is very similar to the city’s, allowing for features similar to red-light cameras, to detect speeding in school zones and slap a $100 fine on violators.
Like the city, the county conducted a study for school zones in the unincorporated areas of the county. It found that 23 of 32 school zones had instances of speeding — with recorded potential violations totaling 23,198 in just one school day.
Of the 23 schools, eight of them were Canopy Oaks Elementary School, Chaires Elementary, Killearn Lakes Elementary, W.T. Moore Elementary, Deer Lake Middle School, Ft. Braden K-8 School, Woodville K-8 School and Chiles High School.
Preliminary estimates from county staff found that the program would generate $275,000 annually.
A school zone speed enforcement camera is set up in front of Raa Middle School. As of right now, there are two active cameras are in the school zones for Ruediger Elementary and Raa Middle School near North MLK Jr. Boulevard and West Tharpe Street, and Desoto Trail Elementary on Kerry Forest Parkway.
How does it work? Who pays for it?
The program will function the same way as the city: If someone is found going over a school zone speed limit by 10 miles per hour they will be mailed a notice of the violation, alongside a photograph of their license plate, resulting in a $100 fine.
The revenue generated from each ticket is to be split up between several groups:
$60 is retained by the county to administer speed detection systems in school zones or other public safety initiatives.
$20 is sent to the Florida Department of Revenue for the State’s General Revenue Fund.
$3 is given to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Department of Law Enforcement’s Criminal Justice and Training Trust Fund.
$12 will be given to the Leon County’s School District where the violation occurred to be used for school security initiatives, student transportation, or improving the safety of student walking conditions.
$5 will be retained by the county for the School Crossing Guard Recruitment and Retention Program.
What happens next?
If the ordinance passes, the county will issue a request for proposal to find a vendor, which will come back to the commissioners for them to vote to accept a contract.
The county will also have to design a public awareness campaign that includes a 30-day warning period before speeding tickets can be given, and posting of new signage about the speed detection systems.
If you go
The meeting begins at 3 p.m. and will be held at the Leon County Courthouse, where the commission chambers are located, with the public hearing starting at 6 p.m.
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County now to consider fines for school zone speeders