Grimmer: Council gets say on ‘speed van’

• By DEBRA LEMOINE
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Jul 3, 2009 - Page: 1B

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LIVINGSTON — Livingston Parish President Mike Grimmer said Thursday he supports ending the so-called “speed van” program but said its fate is in the hands of the Parish Council.

Grimmer said he spoke to Sheriff Willie Graves before the sheriff’s Wednesday evening announcement about pulling out of the program with Redflex Traffic Systems, of Phoenix.

“I concurred with him,” Grimmer said. “I, as parish president, no longer want to be in the program.”

Grimmer said he did not know the ramifications of terminating the Redflex contract, and the parish attorney is reviewing the issue.

He also said he did not know if the parish could continue with the program without the sheriff’s involvement.

“It takes an enforcement power,” Grimmer said.

Even if the Parish Council ends the contract, that does not mean Grimmer and the council wouldn’t consider a similar program with another company, he said.

The idea of the “speed van” program is to supplement the manpower of the Sheriff’s Office to reduce speeding in trouble spots, he said.

The final decision lies with the Parish Council, which passed an ordinance last year to contract with Redflex and set fines for speeding violations, Grimmer said.

The issue is likely to be discussed, Grimmer said, at the next Parish Council meeting Thursday.

Attempts to reach council President Jimmie McCoy on his cell phone and home phone were unsuccessful Thursday.

Shoba Vaitheeswaran, a spokeswoman for Redflex, said she was surprised by the announcement.

“We have not been contacted by the parish, with whom we have a contract, for notification of any discontinuation of the program,” said Vaitheeswaran, Redflex’s director of communications, in an e-mail sent Wednesday evening.