Suffolk County may have to pay up to $ 91 million in shaded rates collected from its controversial red camera program, a cost that could cause budget chaos.
Long Island County already faces a possible battle over its expenses plan, with its budget review office that predicts a huge deficit of $ 552 million by 2028.
Suffolk finished his red light program in December. 1 But two courts ruled that an administrative rate of $ 30 added to violations since the program launched in 2010 was illegal because a maximum fine of $ 50 is required.
The county is appealing the decision.
“While the county cannot comment on the details of the pending litigation, it is not possible to predict how the county would address this situation,” said County Executive Ed Romaine in a statement.
If Suffolk loses the appeal, the county may have to pay even more than just reimburse the drivers who pay the additional fees because the state law requests 9% interest for each year that the money is not paid, according to the demand of David Rimondo-Engnene.
Earlier this month, Romaine warned the components that the next financial situation will require “an extraordinary budget” and “not everyone will be happy”, but the imminent payment is only a piece of a much larger puzzle.
County officials also have to finance a contract of the Police Union recently approved with Boosted Pay, expel several other pending work agreements and compete with the uncertainty of federal future help and economy experts warn that it is in decline.
Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. did not respond to a request for comments.
Meanwhile, Nassau County may have to cough even more than Suffolk, since it reached the red light corridors not only with the standard fine of $ 50, but added a “driver’s responsibility rate” of $ 45, and a “ticky ticky” of $ 55 “Total Tick”- $ 150.
Additional rates raised $ 64 million in gross revenues for Nassau only in 2022, according to the records regarded by New Day.
It is not clear that the total amount that the county may, but democratic legislators at the Nassau legislats board recently introduced a bill that would permanently eliminate administrative rates and establish a fund for the accused reimbursed drivers.
“For years, Nassau’s red light cameras were more revenue than security, and drivers paid the price,” he told The Post Seth Koslow, a Democrat who presented the bill in December 2024, to the post. “It’s time to stop the fleece and start refund,” he said.
The Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to a request for comments.