- 4,000 citations were reportedly handed out within the last 12 days.
- Many residents are frustrated to have received warnings and citations in the mail, following a '20 year period without any ticketing.'
- Mayor Freddie DeCourt and Blueline have extended the warning period to Jan. 7.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Residents packed the council chambers at Tuesday night's New Iberia City Council meeting, listening to each other's concerns over photo speed enforcement.
"I'm not against the cameras, but I'm also not for the way that all of this is being handled," said Tyler Galentine.
"Why...do we not have officers...in the school zones," said another.
"I have two tickets today, and they called this afternoon...I have one more ticket maybe on the way tomorrow, the next day, I don't know," said a third.
The initial warning period began on Nov. 29, and according to Mayor Freddie DeCourt 4,000 citations have been handed out in less than two weeks.
"I never dreamed we'd have 4,000 tickets in 12 days; that's ridiculous," said Mayor DeCourt.
Many felt the equipment is to blame.
"Electronics malfunction," said Williams, "it's a common occurance, and that's just the nature of electronics, they're not people."
Others were skeptical about how their tax dollars are being spent.
"I want you guys to do your job; that's what you're paid for, that's what we pay our taxes for," said a resident.
However, Mayor DeCourt shut down this accusation saying, "It's not a money grab because if it works like it's supposed to people will slow down, and we won't have that revenue."
The mayor assured residents that lots has been behind the scenes to come up with a solution.
"When we realized we had these warnings going out the same time as the tickets, and we started looking at the community response, we knew we had a problem."
Blueline, the company investing in the cameras, have made an agreement with the city to extend the warning period to Jan. 7.
As for people's money, Mayor DeCourt promised full reimbursements for anyone who's already paid a citation.
"We are taking a step back, because we know that we have some issues. We think what we're doing is valid, but I do think we have to back up and you know, make this right."
