You got to be kidding me. $11,995 per month per camera! Ok, this is a money making scheme. The cameras have to give out at least that much money a month to break even. Good for you whoever is spray-painting the cameras. Its against privacy. I would feel better if actual policemen were giving the tickets. It would cost less and at least it gives citizens an accurate ticket. Giving tickets to unknown drivers is ridiculous. I think everyone should buy the photo-block spray for their license plates. Yes, I think speeding in a school zone if bad, but only during school hours.

Not at all surprising, people are sick of government over reaching in their authority, invasions and money grabbing, I am surprised it took this long.

Can any one say, SPEED TRAP, the reason for the cameras, is to free up the police to better inforce the laws, try getting a police to come in a reasonable time, when you call the police in the North Eastern District of Baltimore City. I don't condone vandalism, but someone is doing, what we all wish we could do, to those cameras.

My common sense says - Oh, no! Vandalism is not good. My emotion says - YESSSSS. That camera on Greenside has snagged people in my extended family 5 or more times in the past year, their speeds were never more than 38, and it was never during school hours. That one is a real trap - very wide street, very little traffic.
But, almost 12K per month upkeep? Something just doesn't smell right.

$11 grand a month to rent does seem to be a tad expensive but I understand they take excellent pictures, not a bit of blur, even at high speed!

Great news! These cameras are just another money grabbing opportunity by the county. Their own studies have shown that these cameras have no effect on the number of accidents. So, why have them? Just another source for easy revenue generation. I normally am against vandalism, but I hope it continues to the point that it is no longer profitable for ACS to keep fixing them. Sounds like a good opportunity for someone to get some paintball target practice.

All these tears from law breakers crying "overreaching".

Although I agree with some others, 12k per camera per month? Come on now.

I had no idea it cost the County that much per month to rent those things...now I hate them even more!

Ok so i think speed camera's are fine cause this is how i feel... if your not speeding what do you have to worry about... but i do care about 12.000 a month... i bet they could hire a few more police officers pay them to sit there and give tickets and still save money then a few more americans will have jobs....

HI ASTRO turf posters from the scamera side. (read hear on ACS astro turf: http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/02/speed-camera-contractor-created.html )

Tell you what I will lay out a challange. Lets just see how much the public "supports" this. LET THE PUBLIC VOTE!

Oh I forgot, you dont' want a vote!

Fight the SCAM!

Ban the CAMS!

www.motorists.org
www.banthecams.org
www.camerafraud.com
www.bhspi.org

also read more on the Big MD school zone scam: http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/search/label/Fake%20School%20Zones

I wonder how silly string would work, just a passing thougth!

I hear AZ citizens did that to battle speed scamera over there!

I'm going to put a burka on my tag for religious reasons. Just a small slit so only the stickers are readable.

Vandelism is not good but neuther is Big Brother's hand in your pocket either!!! Paint away!!!!!! this hasn't stopped the cops on patrol on Merritt Blvd. Ticket heaven for them! It's all about the money. Take the money we spent on each camera and hire another policeman or three! money better spent there. Wise up Big Brother.

12k EACH?!?!?

Per month!

12k for a camera? Unacceptable but beleivable. Nowadays 3k will only but you a half decent Nikon. A special camera like that could easily cost 12k. I bet the pole in the concrete costs a pretty penny too! And what about the hookup technology? I bet 12k is just the tip of the iceberg. I bet it costs more to operate than it makes. "462 tickets since Nov 30." What is the time period? Since it started? When was that?
"Big Brother is watching you" wrote George Orwell in 1984. It was only science fiction. It could never happen here.

$12,000 sounds big until you factor in that there are 15 of them in Baltimore County.

How does $180,000 a month grab you?

At $40 per citation the break even is 4,500 speeders caught, 300 per camera average each month.

Now the question is, do they "adjust the sensitivity" on a location that is not covering the nut? If you catch my drift!

My peeve is the "Work Zone Speed Cameras" I got a love letter with a lovely picture on my vehicle going 62 MPH on I-95 along with the $40 fine. The posted speed limit on 95 where this took place is 55MPH. It is that section of I-95 past 695 but prior to the 895 - 95 split headed for the tunnels. There is a sign posted that states the work zone speed limit is 50MPH advising motorists that they could be passing through a work zone photo speed enforcement area.

I respect the fact that the speed should be reduced when people are working but the time of my violation was early Sunday morning without any workers in the area!

I love when I see the cameras out at 2am or on a Sunday afternoon it is a great use of money....whoops i mean it is a great SOURCE of money.

Didn't Councilman Marks campaign AGAINST speed cameras but vote FOR them at the county level?

I would sit there and snap photos for 12k a month

The destruction of the county property is not only criminal, it is, in my opinion, un-American. In this country, we don't resort to violence or destruction of property. If we think the cameras represent speed traps or a waste of tax payer money, we elect representatives who will change the laws. When people react to government they don't like with destruction and violence, the rule of law breaks down, and, if there is anything "exceptional" about America, it is that we manage to live by the rule of law year in and year out. Also, the destruction of these cameras is a violation against those who support such measures. What? Don't they get a voice in how they want their government to act?

Destruction of property in opposition to unjust things is VERY American.

One need look no further than the actions of the Sons of Liberty at the Boston Tea Party in 1773, or for you liberal types out there, the Catonsville Nine's burning of draft records in 1968.

@ Neversure - - I like the "Driving is a privilege", sounds like you are brain washed.

Typical goverment, always trying to squeeze you till the last drop. I dont like vandalism either but I do like this. :)

Tim , the contract for the cameras was a no bid contract approved by the County Council, I have yet to recieve an answer as to why it was not sent out to bid to obtain the best deal for the County, but you can probably guess why.

These cameras cost too much! They cried that we needed this for the safety of our children in school zones, however the cameras allow you to travel 12mph over the speed limit before issuing a ticket. Maybe its just me but if speeding in school zones is a problem why take a measure to prevent it that still allows for 12mph over the posted limit? Seems to me that speed humps and traffic circles would have done the job, of actually slowing people down to the speed limit, and at a one time cost, not 12 grand a month.

Tully, you are incorrect.

The Tea Act of 1773 was passed by an out of touch Parliament controlled by the wealthy and connected, giving a monoply to a private enterprise. (Sound Familliar?)

Neversure, you are correct.

The occupying force is overreaching goverment, and its war on the middle class is unsustainable.

The Parliament was in England not the United States, as there was no United States at that time.

And this from the Tea Party Patriots website:

"The North ministry's solution was the Tea Act, which received the assent of King George on May 10, 1773."

http://www.teapartypatriots.org/BlogPostView.aspx?id=a13d6ffc-fffc-4f4b-abc0-359e8e31d507

In any event, the colonists had no vote or say in how the government of the United Kingdom was run. That is where the slogan "No taxation without representation" comes from.

Now, whether or not these criminals destroying government property vote or not, I don't know, but they do have a say in how their government is run - if they vote.

wonder if anything being done with those red light cameras that expect you to stop on a dime when they give you under 4 seconds to go from green yellow to red.. Impossible.

for those that support the scameras and believe it frees up police to do more important work...guess what, the crime numbers haven't declined since the use of these scameras started. So what are our ( financially strapped) police doing with their spare time?

Driving is a necessity, you cannot work without the ability to get there and back. If you can't work you can't feed yourself and pay taxes. While ( by yours and the government standard) it may be considered such, it is another way our supposedly "free" country has sought to control vital functions for their own benefit, not that of the taxpayer.

Driving is not a necessity. You can work without a car. People do it everyday. They ride public transportation.

Sean, many cases it is a necessity.. buses only go so far. many times we just can't walk a couple miles to job.

p.s. You do see where this "wheels are a necessity to work" business is going, don't you? If wheels are a necessity to get to work and lack of work is what is keeping people on welfare, than isn't it their right to have wheels? Guess we won't be slashing that budget after all.

what the hell are you talking about?

If driving is a privilege, why does it cost so much?

As long as Cameras are around taking Police Jobs and fairness out of the picture , paint will be the Achilles heal. What's next GPS tags implanted in County Residents? Where does this Camera Money go again?

Sean. good ole days are gone. Crime was almost nil back then. We didn't have rats or trashy roads either. Would you work 4-12 midnight and walk a mile in the city or some counties? I used to walk with 3 babies 3 miles and back. Won't do it any more..

Perfect example of how the times have changed!

http://essex.patch.com/articles/crime-beat-middle-river-man-robbed-walking-home

@Sean, some of us aspire to higher than minimum wage jobs...try getting to one of those on public trans..HA HA

Sean you live within the city of Baltimore where everything is within walking distance. Anyone living in the county can not walk to any of the necessities of life, like food! Once you leave the city limits, public transportation is a rarity and we like it that way!

Gil, I do live in the city but in order for me to shop for food, etc., I always have to drive to Arbutus, Catonsville, or even other parts of the city. I do like driving my car, but that does not make my car an necessity.

Now, if you live in parts of the county that do not have public transportation, that is your choice. But your choice does not equate a car being a neccesity.

Let me follow you here. I happen to live in Baltimore County where there is no public transportation of any kind servicing the area. My business is in Anne Arundel County, 37 miles one way from my home. The section of AA county where the business is located is also rural without public transportation. My wife does work in Baltimore City but the nearest public transportation for her is more than 3 miles from our home.

So for me to make a choice to use public transportation would require me to move from the area I call home to an area where public transportation is available, with which congestion and crime are a negative factor from my view. I sorta like being able to sit on my deck and watch the sun set without someone living so close they can scratch my nose and still be on their property. Nice to not have to chain and lock all of your belongings so they don't vanish overnight too!

Then there is the fact that my business is also rural so I should close that and move the business to a location with public transportation as well, displacing 35 employees in the process.

Is that what you feel my choice is?

How can you say that I could live without a car, not a necessity, with the travel involved in my choice of lifestyle?

I suppose my boat at the end of my pier is a whole other subject! How would I get to the other side of the Chesapeake Bay to Rock Hall for crabs in 30 minuets any other way than my boat?

Gil, a car is not a necessity because you can choose to live closer to your work. The fact that you choose to live 37 miles from your job doesn't mean a car becomes a necessity. It may be a necessity for you, but that doesn't mean we have to treat it as such for soceity as a whole. And, besides, what does all this have to do with the destruction of speed cameras?

I stand corrected but still of the belief that driving is a necessity. How would I have ever gotten to Bengies Drive-In as a young lad?

"Gil, a car is not a necessity because you can choose to live closer to your work"

Not so fast. In this economy people scrambling for jobs and don't necessarily work at the same place for long periods of time. Packing up and moving everytime you have a job change is simply not realistic.