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According to the Baltimore Sun, the city may have just lost taxpayers over two million dollars from the purchase and sale of speed cameras.  Here’s what went down.  Baltimore officials paid $2.2 million to purchase its speed cameras from a company called Brekford Corporation in 2013.  But then a Baltimore Sun investigation of the cameras revealed widespread inaccuracies meaning a number of drivers were accused of speeding who weren’t and probably paid fines.    The errors were so widespread, the city shut the cameras down that same year.

But instead of getting the city’s money back or suing the company for selling defective equipment the city tried to sell many of them back to Brekford.  Good idea?  Not when you see the price they were trying to sell them back for.

Check this:  $32,000.

The $32,000 offer came after the city tried to sell the traffic camera equipment in September, and Brekford Corp. submitted the winning bid, according to the transportation department.

The Baltimore Sun reports, “With the $32,000, the company bought 83 portable cameras, 581 batteries, three camera control boxes and a slew of other equipment from the city, records show.

Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the transportation department, said the city still has more equipment to sell.

“There is more equipment still installed on the streets which will be sold at a later date,” Barnes said.

City officials did not respond to a question Friday about why the sales price was so much lower than the purchase price,” writes the Sun.

Now Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has revived  the hated traffic camera system, and is paying a new company $5.4 million to run the speed cameras and another corporation $4.2 million of your tax dollars to run the red light cameras.

SMH.  Are  Bmore taxpayers  getting screwed? What do you think?  Let me know @Jaztalk1 on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ci-speed-cameras-20180406-story.html