By Liz Holland

A plan to install automated traffic cameras to catch red light runners at certain intersections got the go-ahead from the Salisbury City Council.

A contract is expected to be approved as soon as the council’s July 25 meeting.

Discussions about the cameras started in February, with council members expressing concerns about whether the effort would pay for itself.

At the time, city officials looked at a red-light program currently being operated in Howard County. However, that program would have had high costs to the city. Each camera is leased at $2,450 per month and has a monthly per-camera management fee of $165. There also is a citation fee, based on 50 citations per month, of $11 per camera.

In the meantime, officials learned of Conduent, a company operating in Montgomery County, that better offers terms, said Procurement Director Jennifer Miller. There is no cost for the installation or operation of the cameras, and the company can operate on a per-citation basis, with Conduent taking $26.50 and the city keeping $48.50 for every $75 citation.

Conduent can provide site analysis which is key to determining which intersections need cameras. The city only has data on accidents, not on red light violations.

“If they’re going to do the analysis for us, then I don’t have any problems with it,” Council President Jack Heath said at last week’s city work session.

Council members agreed to move forward with a contract with Conduent. Piggybacking on Montgomery County’s contract with the camera vendor, allows Salisbury to forgo the usual bidding process.

Conduent also provides maintenance and repair as well as training on its software and will testify in court.

The company also offers license plate readers at an additional cost of $290 per month and Speed on Green capability at $750 per month, Duncan said in a memo to council members.

During a February work session, Duncan said the city will need 20 cameras at various intersections that have high rates of crashes and where the Police Department gets the most complaints.

There are at least 10 to 15 intersections that are candidates for red light cameras, among them are Route 50 at Mill Street, Route 13 at Centre Drive, Zion Road and Isabella Street, and at locations on Beaglin Park Drive and College Avenue.

“These are the areas where we had red light violators,” she said.

Intersections under the control of the State Highway Administration, such as those on Routes 13 and 50, will require state approval for installation of cameras, she said.

Some intersections may require as many as four cameras to capture traffic in each direction.

While red light cameras will be new to Salisbury, the city currently operates six speed cameras in school zones.