No WhiteWash!

Largest photo enforcement vendor reports that opposition groups have cut into company profits.

The number one speed camera and red light camera operator in the US today reported that its profits plunged by 32 percent in the first half of fiscal 2010, due in large measure to rising public discontent with automated enforcement. Redflex Traffic Systems told Australian shareholders that after adjusting for exchange rates, the company lost A$8 million, primarily as a result of citizen activists taking action against photo enforcement.

“The business, particularly in the US, has become more difficult over recent years, and the results reflect the influence of a range of adverse issues and circumstances on the business, including… the rise of opposition from various groups opposed to photo enforcement, resulting in challenges to programs through citizen initiated referenda,” a company statement explained. “A state wide ballot initiative [in Arizona] could result in negative impact.”

To date, citizen groups nationwide have succeeded in putting the question of photo enforcement on the ballot in nine cities. All nine voted to ban automated ticketing, with margins as high as 86 percent against the cameras (view list of cities). The largest citizen-led revolt so far is happening in the state of Arizona where the group CameraFraud.com has used a continual stream of protests, a Facebook page and other techniques to educate drivers that citations mailed from the program could be thrown away, unpaid. Only personally served notices are valid in the state. Redflex reported that the Arizona program so far has lost $4.9 million..

“Citation payment rates remain low due to the inability to achieve acceptable payment rates from violators,” the company explained. “Our push to reform the laws governing traffic enforcement with the Arizona Legislature and with the Arizona Supreme Court makes 2010 a critical year for our Company in Arizona…. Once corrective legislation is passed payment rates are expected to rise to the average historical payments rates typical for the Arizona business model.”

Discontent with photo ticketing has spread nationwide as politicians fear they may lose their jobs if they are responsible for bringing cameras into their community, although Redflex suggests the recession may also play a role.

“The rate of new contract signings has clearly decreased since a year ago,” Redflex admitted. “It is not clear at this stage whether this is driven by the economic environment, by the level of opposition, or by a slowdown in the rate of growth in the industry as a whole.”

A number of cities that use Redflex or a competitor have dropped the use of automated ticketing machines entirely. In California, Maywood and Moreno Valley dropped red light cameras while Loma Linda and Upland discussed the possibility of doing so. Avondale, Arizona and Dalton, Georgia also canceled their programs.

“As has been experienced over prior years, there is no guarantee that all contracts will be renewed at completion of their base contract term,” a Redflex statement explained. “Some cities have decided not to continue, and we have experienced early shutdowns in two cities.”

The company’s other major financial burden has been a lawsuit filed by American Traffic Solutions has cost Redflex another $1.3 million (more info). A shareholder revolt also cost the company $197,000 in expenses related to a change in the board of directors. Source

via Red Light Camera Giant Redflex Loses $8 Million From Opposition.

 Avondale, Arizona cancels photo enforcement after it failed to generate accident reduction or profit.

Avondale, Arizona last week decided to terminate its contract with American Traffic Solutions (ATS) for the operation of red light cameras and speed cameras. The city council made its decision primarily on financial grounds after the program failed to deliver on its promise of enhanced safety and substantial profit. With Avondale facing a $3.8 million budget deficit, officials decided the cameras had to go.

"The largest reduction in budgeted appropriations comes from the camera traffic enforcement program," Avondale Finance Director Kevin Artz wrote in a February 8 memo to the council. "The police department has assessed the effectiveness of the program and determined that potentially the program costs outweigh the benefits. With the total costs of the program exceeding the revenue and little change in accident rate, staff recommends that council consider eliminating or suspending the program."

The city allowed ATS to deploy two red light cameras and one mobile speed camera van. Over the past two years, ATS issued 6326 photo citations, with the number of tickets issued down 46 percent in 2009. While some cities would trumpet this reduction as evidence of the benefit of camera use, Avondale provided a different explanation.

"In June 2009 the decision was made to discontinue photo enforcement at intersections for failing to stop turning right on a red light," Police Chief Kevin Kotsur wrote. "This was based on a review of the previous year’s accident rate that revealed there were no traffic accidents caused by a vehicle failing to stop on a red light turning right at an intersection… This decision appears to account for the majority of this decrease."

Since the economic recession took hold in 2007, traffic volumes have dropped nationwide. As a result, traffic fatalities have hit all-time lows. Since the beginning of the recession, fatal crashes have dropped 14.7 percent across the country. The half-mile radius surrounding Avondale’s camera locations only saw a 7 percent drop in accidents. Areas farther from the cameras experienced a more significant drop in the number of crashes.

The city budget did estimate that cameras would generate $318,610 in net revenue for the city, but Kotsur noted that indirect costs associated with the program would mean the city would wind up losing $80,000. Avondale’s contract was set to expire on September 19, 2010, but an early termination clause allowed cancellation without penalty to the city. A copy of the city council memo is available in a 260k PDF file at the source link below.

 Source: Budgetary Update and Strategy Discussion (City of Avondale, Arizona, 2/8/2010)

via Arizona: City Dumps Money Losing Traffic Cameras.

A new survey from Gallup and Franklin-based Healthways Inc shows that the Kingsport area is ranked as the bottom ten cities for overall well being.  It appears that the physical, emotional, social and professional aspects of folks in the Kingsport area has helped drag the State of Tennessee to its low scores.

I wonder how our elected leaders will “spin” this study to make themselves look good.  Maybe, they might try even more to spend more money to help their cause.  So far the out of control spending for pet projects by our local elected officials has not seemed to work.

The Kingsport area has managed to get lots of national media attention with this study.

Nashville-area residents have the highest well-being among Tennesseans, although the state as a whole continues to rank near the bottom nationally when it comes to overall quality of life.

That’s the conclusion of two reports published today by Gallp and Franklin-based Healthways Inc. The reports are based on more than 350,000 surveys completed in 2009 that measure how respondents are faring in all aspects of their daily lives: physically, emotionally, socially and professionally.

Nashville ranks 63rd among 185 cities nationwide in the city-level report, up 22 spots from 2008. In report-card terms, that’s the equivalent of a B. Memphis and Knoxville scored Ds, while Chattanooga and Kingsport both graded an F.

In fact, Kingsport ranks among the bottom 10 cities nationwide in overall well-being, scoring dead last in the categories of life evaluation and physical health. Fort Smith, Ark., came in last overall, while Boulder, Colo. topped the list.

In the state-level report, Tennessee ranks 42nd, the same as in 2008. The bright spot was work environment, where the state ranks 12th. Hawaii had the highest well-being among states, while West Virginia had the lowest.

Gallup and Healthways published state and congressional district rankings for 2008. But this is the first time since polling began in January 2008 that city rankings have been announced.

“It’s our hope that these rankings are not treated as competition, but as a wake-up call,” said Anne Wilkins, Healthways’ chief strategy officer. “Even the highest-ranked cities and states have room for improvement, and hopefully communities can look at these rankings and figure out how to improve the lives of their citizens.”

Gallup and Healthways entered into a 25-year partnership in 2008 with the goal of creating an official statistic for the daily state of health and well-being in the United States.

Aggregating 1,000 calls a day, 350 days a year, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is the largest behavioral economic database ever created and is expected to generate more than 9 million individual responses over the next quarter-century.

Healthways provides specialized, comprehensive medical solutions for insurers and employers to help patients manage and improve their health and reduce health care costs.

The company ranks No. 16 on Nashville Business Journal’s list of largest public companies in Middle Tennessee with revenue of $789.5 million in 2008.

Best and worst

Top 10 Cities Overall 1. Boulder, Colo. 2. Holland, Mich. 3. Honolulu, Hawaii 4. Provo, Utah 5. Santa Rosa, Calif. 6. Santa Barbara, Calif. 7. San Jose, Calif. 8. Washington, D.C. 9. Ogden, Utah 10. Oxnard, Calif.

Bottom 10 Cities Overall 1. Fort Smith, Ark. 2. Huntington, W. Va. 3. Lake Havasu City, Ariz. 4. Johnstown, Penn. 5. Modesto, Calif. 6. Charleston, W.Va. 7. Flint, Mich. 8. Youngstown, Ohio 9. Kingsport, Tenn. 10. Shreveport, La.

Top 10 States Overall 1. Hawaii 2. Utah 3. Montana 4. Minnesota 5. Iowa 6. Vermont 7. Colorado 8. Alaska 9. North Dakota 10. Kansas

Bottom 10 States Overall 1. West Virginia 2. Kentucky 3. Arkansas 4. Ohio 5. Nevada 6. Alabama 7. Indiana 8. Mississippi 9. Tennessee 10. Louisiana

Source: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index City and State Reports

via Healthways, Gallup: Tennesseans’ well-being lags, boosted by Nashville – Nashville Business Journal:.

Note the rankings below for Kingsport.  The number of cities studied in 185.  Kingsport came in dead last in “Life Evaluation” and “Physical Health”.  Kingsport’s overall score is 179 out of 185.  Click on the link below for more information on the Tennessee study.

2009 City, State & Congressional District Well-Being Report for Tennessee

NASHVILLE – Tennessee sales tax collections continue to be a concern for the state’s general fund. Negative growth in sales tax collections continued in January, with overall January revenues coming in at $947.4 million, which is $16.1 million less than the state budgeted.

“January is the 20th consecutive month in which sales taxes have recorded negative growth.” Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz said. “January collections represent December holiday sales, which brought reports of positive growth at the national level, so it’s very disappointing that we didn’t have a similar experience in Tennessee.

“Despite the severe national recession, the state will continue to monitor spending in order to end the fiscal year with a balanced budget as required by the state’s constitution,” Goetz said.

On an accrual basis, January is the sixth month in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

The general fund was under collected by $5.2 million and the four other funds were under collected by $10.9 million.

Sales tax collections were $20.4 million less than the estimate for January.  The January growth rate was negative 1.86%. For six months revenues are under collected by $159.0 million. The year-to-date growth rate for six months was negative 5.72 %.

Franchise and excise taxes combined were $11.3 million above the budgeted estimate of $128.5 million. For six months revenues are over collected by $5.9 million.

Gasoline and motor fuel collections for January increased by 5.77 % but were $4.2 million below the budgeted estimate of $71.2 million.  For six months revenues are under collected by $14.1 million.

Tobacco tax collections were $451,000 above the budgeted estimate of $21.9 million, and for six months they are $4.3 million over the budgeted estimate.

Inheritance and estate taxes were over collected by $1.8 million for the month.

All other taxes were under collected by a net of $5.1 million.

Year-to-date collections for six months were $185.1 million less than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was under collected by $152.3 million and the four other funds were under collected by $32.8 million.

The budgeted revenue estimates for 2009-2010 are based on the State Funding Board’s consensus recommendation adopted by the first session of the 106th General Assembly in May of 2009, and are available on the state’s Web site at http//www.tn.gov/finance/bud/budget.html.

The State Funding Board met again on December 18, 2009 and adopted revised revenue ranges for 2009-2010. The revised ranges reflect growth rates ranging from -1.50 % to -0.25 % in total taxes, and -2.35 % to – 0.85% in general fund taxes.

Based on the funding board’s consensus recommendation, the official budgeted estimates for 2009-2010 were revised in late December. The revised estimates are reflected on pages A-70 and A-72 in the 2010-2011 Budget Document. The revised estimates assume an under collection in total taxes in the amount of $161.3 million, and an under collection of $153.2 million in the general fund.

View Revenue Collections

These affordable metro areas offer sunny weather, plenty of seniors and rosy economic outlooks.

Below are the top ten cities.  Go to Forbes.com to see the rest of the list.

Permanent closures to reduce IP’s North American capacity by 2.1 million tons

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Oct. 22, 2009 – International Paper (NYSE: IP) today announced plans to close its paper mill and associated operations in Franklin, Va., and its containerboard mills in Pineville, La., and Albany, Ore. The company also announced it would permanently shut down the previously idled No. 3 machine at its Valliant, Okla., containerboard mill. The Valliant Mill’s other two machines will continue to operate. These permanent shutdowns will reduce the company’s North American paper and board capacity by 2.1 million tons.

“We recognize these are very difficult decisions affecting our employees, their families and the communities surrounding these mills,” said Chairman and CEO John Faraci. “We have concluded that we have excess capacity in our North American paper and packaging businesses, and these decisions will better match our supply with our expected customer demand.”

Since the onset of the global recession, the decline in demand for International Paper’s uncoated freesheet in North America has accelerated, and consequently the company has decided to further reduce its uncoated freesheet capacity.

In its containerboard and coated paperboard businesses, International Paper expects demand to resume growth as the economy rebounds. However, the company’s demand is not expected to return to 2008 levels in the near future. Therefore, permanent IP capacity closures are necessary.

The closures, which will impact about 1,600 employees, will result in permanent North American capacity reductions as follows:

via International Paper to Shut Down Three Mills

Forbes.com lists affordable metro areas that offer sunny weather, jobs and rosy economic outlooks.  Forbes article

Click here for the full list of places to retire

The recession has hit Tennessee with business and personal Bankruptcies.  Below in the table is the bankruptcy by chapter and type for 2nd quarter of 2009.  Note the rank that Tennessee has by clicking on the highlighted link in blue. In the data below, Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy is the third worst in the nation in Tennessee.

Elected officials should think twice about raising taxes, funding a pet project at taxpayers expense.

**Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

The Atlantic and Wall Street Journal both have an interesting article on where the kids are headed in the 20-29 are bracket.

The Wall Street Journal asked six experts to come up with lists of the "next youth magnet cities." I was one of them. The top spot was a tie – D.C. and Seattle, followed by NYC, Portland (OR), Austin, San Jose, Denver, Raleigh-Durham, Dallas, Chicago, and Boston. You can see the list and read the full story here.

Below is what I sent to the Journal.

My Rankings

These are based on my own rankings of the best places for young, professional singles, aged 20-29 in Who’s Your City?, as well as other rankings and surveys and my reading of current trends. The data are from Kevin Stolarick, additional analysis by Charlotta Mellander, and research assistance by Patrick Adler, my colleagues at the Martin Prosperity Institute.

Read more via Where the Kids Are Heading – Richard Florida.

Big cities dominate our panelists’ forecasts. Where trendy smaller cities might have captivated youth in the past, today’s recession-scarred young people are more pragmatic, placing "greater emphasis on where high-quality, high-paying jobs are created,"

Read more via The Next Hot Youth-Magnet Cities – WSJ.com.

Since the City of Kingsport, Tennessee is buying up real estate, I have included a sample classified ad that could be used by the city.  You can see a list of properties that the city owns by clicking here.  Copy the following in bold, kingsport city of and paste into the Owner Name on the Real Estate Assessment Data form.

Hint:  If you are serious about selling property to the city, then it would be a good idea to become a political ally first with the City of Kingsport elected leaders.

Merriam-Webster – ally

Meaning: someone associated with another to give assistance or moral support <in trying to convince his parents to send him to soccer camp, Toby had a real ally in his coach>

Synonyms abettor (also abetter), backer, confederate, supporter, sympathizer

Related Words well-wisher; accessory, accomplice, collaborationist, collaborator; adjunct, assistant, coadjutor, helper; associate, cohort, colleague, fellow, partner; buddy, chum, companion, comrade, confidant, crony, familiar, friend, intimate, mate, pal

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007