Drivers running red lights in Salisbury could be caught – and fined $75 – using automated traffic cameras under a plan being considered by the City Council.

At a Tuesday afternoon work session, council members agreed to further study a proposal to install red light cameras in an effort to reduce crashes, and they want to make sure the effort would pay for itself.

“It sounds like a good program, but is it going to be worth it?” asked Councilwoman April Jackson.

City officials looked at red-light programs currently being operated in other parts of Maryland, and found one they liked in Howard County. Police Chief Barbara Duncan said the city could piggy-back off the existing service contract with American Traffic Solutions in Howard County just as 11 other agencies in six counties are doing now.

The program would have 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.

One intersection under consideration at Route 50 and Mill Street would need four cameras that would cost the city $14,460 per month for the cameras and an additional $2,200 in fees, said City Council President Jack Heath. At that rate, there would need to be 200 citations issued there every month to break even.

“This is a big number,” he said. “It’s got to make sense.”

Mayor Jake Day suggested the city look at revenue vs. expenses in Howard County, as well as Charles County which is on the same contract.

“It’s likely covering their expenses and then some,” he said.

Day reminded council members that the city currently operates six speed cameras near schools that are “very costly,” but pay for themselves.

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. Among them are on 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.

If the city decides to go through Howard County’s contract with the camera vendor, it would allow Salisbury to forgo the usual request for proposals process, but some council members wondered if the city might get a better deal.

Jennifer Miller, the city’s Procurement Director, said she and Duncan looked at programs across the state and “the costs skyrocketed.” They preferred the one in Howard County which would operate it for Salisbury and verify citations, Duncan said.

“This lessens the burden on the Police Department for some of the administrative work,” she said.

Council members decided to move forward by taking a deeper dive into crash data from the Police Department as well as getting a break-even analysis by the city finance director. But all agreed it’s needed.

“I want to do it, but it must make sense,” Heath said.