City approves purchase of new surveillance system with funds from speeding cameras
Albany adding more cameras
ALBANY, Ga – At Tuesday night’s city commission meeting, Albany commissioners approved the purchase of a new surveillance system for the Albany Police Department with funding coming from the controversial speed cameras across the city.
The system is known as FUSUS…
Albany Ward 1 Commissioner Jon Howard gave us the details about what the system is capable of…
“We will install around 54 cameras throughout the city. It’s to make sure that areas are safe. And we also got around 49 or so of those red cameras with tag readers that we would disperse throughout the city, to make sure that areas that there’s a problem, these cameras can be moved from pole to pole,” said Jon Howard, Ward 1 Commissioner, City of Albany.
The cameras reportedly brought the city around 4 million dollars in 2022…
Though many have claimed the cameras, originally designed to be used in school zones are just another revenue stream for the city.
One Albany man we spoke with in downtown is okay with the cameras going toward this in concept, but he says the execution has been different.
“I’ve already known a few people who got tickets from those cameras who felt like they weren’t even speeding in the area like it wasn’t calibrated properly or something. So that doesn’t seem like the right way to pay for something like that, it seems wrong. Like where would I find proof of it, that is the question,” said Daniel Toth.
Commissioner Howard says that while the commission is aware that the cameras have caused their share of controversy, they’re putting public safety at the forefront.
“We certainly hope that the citizens of this community realize that in school zones, we’ve got kids ages 7 to 18 years old that we need to slow down, cause we certainly don’t want an accident, or fatality in a school zone,” said Commissioner Howard.
“Like I said, I like the cameras, I think that they’re a really great idea, because I’ve seen in the areas where people were speeding, they’ve slowed down. But, to purposely give people tickets to pay for stuff that the county needs doesn’t seem right. I really don’t know what to say about that, “said Toth.
While many in the Good Life City have discussed their displeasure with the speed cameras, Commissioner Howard wants people to know that as long as they are driving safely, the cameras won’t track them down for a ticket.
Commissioner Howard says the new surveillance system should be up and running in a few weeks.
Brian Roche reporting.
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