No automated speeding tickets after all? Public outcry prompts commissioner to change his vote

Marty Haynes

Hamilton County Commissioners next week will revisit an issue that caused much controversy Wednesday.

District 3 Commissioner Marty Haynes, who seconded a motion to allow sheriff deputies to video and cite speeding drivers without pulling them over, said his vote would change.

"We are going to revisit this next week. There wasn't enough public notice for this with having the agenda and voting session. And the public has made it very clear they are not in favor. My vote will change," Haynes said. "The firestorm over this has been pretty, well, pretty brutal."

Commissioners voted 5-4 Wednesday in favor of allowing Sheriff Jim Hammond to contract with Applied Technology Partners for the two devices. The devices would not cost the county anything, but the company would get $25 of each $50 civil ticket issued from the devices.

Read more in Friday's Chattanooga Times Free Press.