FEDERALSBURG, Md. - The Town of Federalsburg is more than five-million dollars in debt.
On Monday, March 20, the town discussed solutions to aid the debt the town is facing. One of the main solutions was speed cameras along University Ave.
It's a busy road on University Ave. in Federalsburg. One of several ideas being considered are speed cameras as a means to generate revenue.
The Mayor, Kim Abner, says the cameras would help the police department
Abner says, "What the plan is for the speed cameras is to actually use that money to help pay for our leasing program for our police cars. So right now we're paying that out of the budget but we're hoping the speed cameras help pay for the cost of leasing the vehicles every year for the police department."
Mayor Abner says speed cameras around school zones could bring in around $50,000 a year.
Chief of Police Michael McDermott says, "We believe we would generate at least half a dozen or more tickets a day."
Speed camera tickets would be around $40. $20 would go to the camera company vendor and $20 for the town.
Some people in the town like Barbara Todd support the idea. She says, "I think they probably would be able to make a lot of money because some people regardless of what they say they're gonna be speeding anyhow."
Abner says going forward, the town will be selective with new projects to minimize any future debt. She added they hope that the speed cameras are implemented by late spring or early summer.
