37 city workers caught running red lights and speeding in 2022, with taxpayers footing the bill

Thirty-seven City of Hamilton vehicles were caught on camera running red lights and speeding in 2022, racking up at least $5,850 in fines and resulting in potential unpaid suspensions for workers. 

But the workers behind the wheel didn't pay for their tickets — the city did.

Data obtained by CBC Hamilton shows of the 37 workers who broke the law, 18 were caught by red light cameras and 19 were caught by automatic speed enforcement (ASE) cameras.

Red light camera tickets cost $325, which means the city would have been fined around $5,850 for those violations.

It's unclear what the city paid for ASE violations because those tickets vary depending on the driver's speed.

Emily Trotta, a city spokesperson with the public works department, said the average cost of a ticket during a pilot program in 2020 and 2021 was $70.

Applying that average cost to the 19 city workers caught speeding shows those speeding tickets may have cost taxpayers another $1,330.

Trotta said there are practical reasons why the city covers the bill.

"It's not always possible to determine who was driving the vehicle for the instance the violation was committed," she wrote.

"Also, tickets paid by employees could result in employees challenging the ticket and as the ticket is issued to the City of Hamilton, not the employee, it would result in the employee representing the City of Hamilton in court arguing against the City of Hamilton."

Norm Miller, another spokesperson with the public works department, said city workers caught running red lights get 20 points on their employment record and receive a one-day, unpaid suspension. Miller did not confirm how many employees were suspended, however. 

Employees caught by automatic speed enforcement cameras get 15 points on their employment file and no suspension because it takes 20 points to be suspended.

Trotta said when workers hit 50 points, they are fired. She did not say if any employees had been fired as a result last year.

Workers from the public works department were responsible for 29 of the 37 violations.