Nassau should pay for ticket fee grab

Finally, after a long legal battle, Suffolk County has agreed to a $57.5 million settlement over fees wrongfully tacked on to millions of tickets generated by electronic cameras that catch motorists running red lights.

Under its terms the county will repay drivers up to $36 for administrative fees imposed between 2013 and 2023 that have since been deemed illegal.

Suffolk was collecting $30 on top of the $50 base fine per red-light violation. But in 2024, a state Appellate Division panel deemed the extra fees illegal. The judges ruled that a plain reading of the law limits the cost of each red-light camera fine to $50, plus a $25 fee only if the payment is late.

Mailers and social media messages are going out to those who paid the fines so they can file for reimbursement.

But Nassau County, where the extra fines were far higher, and where a red-light camera program is still active, is still fighting in court to resist any payback.

Due to the ruling two years ago, Nassau had to stop charging a $45 "public safety fee" and $55 "driver responsibility fee" on top of its $50 camera tickets. Only the standard $25 late fee is charged these days.

The county's lawyers have contended that even if the additional $100 in combined fees charged in the past was illegal, drivers paid it "voluntarily," as they did not file protests at that time.

The strategy for protecting the county from a huge payout involves the fact that in Nassau, state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker did not grant the plaintiffs class-action status, which was granted in Suffolk.

The fairest move for Nassau would be to try negotiating a Suffolk-like settlement with those who paid illegal fees. They were wrong and those overcharged should be compensated. County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running for governor, seems to want to avoid discussing the topic since refunding the many millions of dollars involved would throw a wrench into the county budget.

Legis. Howard Kopel, presiding officer of the Republican-controlled Nassau Legislature, acknowledged the impact of losing in court. When Democrats pushed for compensating the motorists, Kopel said: "The Democrats know reimbursements of past fees would destroy the fiscal stability of the county." 

Fairness should have dictated that during the two years since both counties' automatic overcharges exploded in court, Blakeman and Kopel would have faced the prospect of reimbursement. Now their resistance is costing taxpayers even more in fees to the private attorneys hired by the county. Both GOP leaders should muster the unusual political courage to do the right thing and accept responsibility to those collectively soaked for hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal fees. 

Just addressing the problem candidly might at least assure constituents that Nassau County's government is not on hiatus until after Election Day.