In its first three months, Essa Township’s automated speed enforcement (ASE) program — also known as speed cameras — has issued ‘penalty orders’ totalling more than $330,000.
While only about half of that amount — $166,000 — has been collected, Essa officials are confident they’ll get it all, at one point or another.
“The time frame for recovery is rather varied where a penalty order has proceeded to plate denial, as a defaulted fine is tied to licence plate renewal. Thus, it can take some time before the defaulted penalty order is paid,” said Lisa Lehr, Essa Township’s manager of legislative services/clerk.
“However, Essa will see full recovery of the penalty order. We may have to wait, but we do get it.”
Lehr said a penalty order is comprised of three elements — the penalty or fine portion, the victim component surcharge, and a fee of $8.25, which reflects the costs incurred to access the personal information of the person who is subject of the penalty order.
Penalty orders that are in default — where payment has not been received prior to the due date, or the registered owner has not commenced an appeal — are sent for collection to the Ministry of Transportation through plate denial.
The registered owner for any penalty order in default that has proceeded to collection through plate denial is required to pay the outstanding penalty order prior to their licence plate being renewed.
According to her report to council, which was presented Wednesday night at Essa Township’s council meeting, Lehr said more than 2,200 penalty orders were issued between Jan. 1 and March 31.
The average fine was $149.33.
“Gross revenue from penalty orders imposed during the first quarter of 2024 is $334,197.50,” she wrote in her report. “From this, Essa is required to pay Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of the Attorney General in accordance with the agreements executed for administration of the program, in addition to the revenue split in accordance with the agreement executed with Global Traffic Group.”
According to Lehr’s report, 2,238 penalty orders were issued.
That includes 1,271 for the camera location on the 5th Line, between the 30th Sideroad and County Road 90, and 967 were issued from the camera located on the 25th Sideroad, between the 9th Line and the 10th Line.
(The camera on the 25th Sideroad has no results from Feb. 25 to March 31 because it was vandalized. The post that it was secured to was cut down with a chainsaw on Feb. 24 or 25, according to township officials.)
Of those, 516 have “proceeded to plate denial through the Ministry of Transportation,” Lehr said.
She also noted 210 screening reviews have been conducted and there have been 17 hearing reviews.
According to information on the township’s ASE page on its website, a person who receives a penalty order issued under an ASE program may start an appeal by requesting a review by a screening officer. They will review the ticket and all supplementary documentation as submitted by the appellant and will make a decision to confirm, vary, or set aside the penalty order.
Once a decision has been made, the screening officer will send the notice of decision to the appellant.
If the person who was issued the penalty order disagrees with the screening officer’s decision, they can proceed to the second stage of the appeals process by scheduling a review of the decision by what’s called a hearing officer.
According to Lehr’s report, the intent of ASE is to help improve road user safety by increasing speed compliance, altering driver behaviour and increasing public awareness about the need to slow down in designated school zones and community safety zones.
“From the feedback received, most agree with the use of the ASE program, as speeding has been an overwhelming issue within our communities for years,” Lehr said. “This program offers a way to modify driver behaviour and encourage safe driving practices.
“No one ever likes to part with their hard-earned money, but the ASE program provides an easy way to avoid doing so — don’t speed,” she added.
