Of the more than 1,600 citations issued by Ringgold's school zone speed camera program when the program's signage was out of compliance with state law, just 16 have been dismissed or its recipient found not liable.
Officials with Blue Line Solutions, the Chattanooga-based company that runs the program, and a Ringgold City Council member defended the speeding crackdown, saying the number of citations has gone down since the program started in December. Critics argue privately-operated cameras shouldn't be enforcing speed limits. And they say any citations issued when the program was out of compliance with state law should be refunded.
Sometime in March, signage for the speed camera program was brought into compliance with state law, according to Ray Blankenship, a resident of Rossville, whose citation was dismissed May 1 by Ringgold Municipal Court Judge Robert Stultz.
Blankenship shared the evidence he submitted to the court stating the city didn't have a sign warning of the speed camera at the city limits, as required by state law. Stultz did not respond to an email request seeking confirmation of the reason for dismissing the citation.
Ron Pemberton said he got a citation in January — when the signs were out of compliance with state law — and is fighting it in court.
"To me, if they're running an illegal system, that's not complying with the law in any aspect. It's just like holding a gun on somebody and robbin' 'em," Pemberton, of Flintstone, Georgia, said in a phone call.
The first time he went to court for a hearing to contest his citation, most people were just paying the fines rather than contesting them, he said. Pemberton said he's talked about the issue with Ringgold Mayor Nick Millwood but no other elected representatives.
"I'm not against having something like that around schools to make the kids safer," Pemberton said. "As long as it's done in a legal, proper manner."
His next court date is July 5, he said.
(READ MORE: Man gets Ringgold, Georgia, speed camera ticket dismissed over signage)
The speed camera program began issuing speeding citations on Tennessee Street/Highway 151 near Ringgold Middle School at the beginning of December. Through the end of April, 2,055 citations had been issued, and just 16 had been dismissed, according to a public records request filled by Elizabeth Brock, Catoosa County court clerk.
From December through April, the number of citations issued has declined: 781 citations in December, 480 in January, 378 in February, 212 in March and 204 in April, according to City Manager Mark Vaughn.
Even though he didn't have to pay his citation, Blankenship said in a phone call that he lost more than the cost of the ticket due to missing work for court dates. He said he fought the ticket because the program didn't seem constitutional, but he said he knows others don't have the time or knowledge to fight their citation.
Blankenship said he thinks the law allowing the program should be revisited, and the citations paid when program's signage was out of compliance with state law should be refunded.
"This would restore confidence back to our system of government," Blankenship said of the refunds. "That being said ... It's the honest and fair thing to do the way I see it."
(READ MORE: Ringgold, Georgia's Highway 151 gets speed cameras to enforce limits)
A process to contest the ticket is outlined on the citation. Because the citation is issued to the vehicle owner, not necessarily the driver, state law includes a process to declare that in a hearing and have the driver found not liable.
Ringgold City Council members and Millwood, the city's mayor, were asked about oversight of the speed camera program and what they thought of the call to have citations issued out of compliance with state law refunded. Council members Kelly Bomar, Sara Clark, Earl Henderson and Jake Haynes didn't respond to the email.
Councilwoman Rhonda Swaney didn't answer the question but did respond in an email.
"My only comment would be to reiterate that the speeding tickets issued have dropped dramatically since the installation of the cameras," she said. That's the outcome the council was hoping for, she said.
"Do I believe that they are a permanent fix?" she said. "Not necessarily. Our council will continue to look at all options to address the concerns of our constituents."
State Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, said while he hasn't heard from any constituents about the cameras, he doesn't like them.
"It's absolutely ridiculous that these types of cameras exist," Moore said in a phone interview last week.
Automated speed cameras are often used for "revenue grabbing," he said, adding that having a private company running the program is a problem. A private company's incentive is to make money instead of just public safety, he said.
But Mark Hutchinson, founder and chief of operations for Blue Line Solutions, said in a phone call earlier this month the company's focus is on safety rather than writing as many tickets as possible.
FAST FACTS
— For the first offense under Ringgold's school zone speed camera program, motorists are given a $100 speeding ticket for going 11 mph over the 25 mph speed limit. Each additional citation is $125, with $25 of every ticket going to the processing company and the rest to the city of Ringgold.
— Citations are considered civil violations. They will not add points to an offender's driver's license nor will they be reported to the driver's insurance company.
— Nonpayment of speeding fines will prevent a vehicle owner from renewing the vehicle's registration and prohibit the transfer of the vehicle's title in Georgia.
Source: Blue Line Solutions, state of Georgia, Ringgold Police Department
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.