This Alabama city made more than half a million dollars from traffic cameras this year

The city of Center Point has officially cleared a major financial hurdle, generating more than $500,000 in traffic camera citations so far in 2026. Mayor Bobby Scott Jr. confirmed the figures as the city continues its long-term strategy to leverage the controversial technology to build out its own police department.

A Decade of Controversy

Center Point currently operates five traffic cameras—three dedicated to speed enforcement and two positioned at stop signs. While these devices have remained a lightning rod for criticism among local drivers for over a decade, Mayor Scott maintains that they are an essential tool for public safety. “I know they are controversial, and a lot of people don’t like tickets, but it’s the same if a police officer pulls you over and writes you a ticket, you don’t like that one either,” Scott told 205focus.com. “At the end of the day, you still broke a traffic law that is enforceable by the city.”

Data from WVTM 13 paints a significant picture of the program's reach: between 2022 and early April 2026, the cameras generated nearly $3.5 million in fines. Collectively, more than 52,000 speed-related citations and nearly 20,000 stop sign violations have been issued, totaling at least $7.9 million in potential revenue, though less than 35% of those fines have been paid.

Investing in Public Safety

The funds are being funneled directly into the city's public safety infrastructure. Currently, the majority of the revenue covers the cost of four contracted deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. However, in May, the city took a major step forward by appointing Zandral Washington as its first-ever chief of public safety. Washington is tasked with laying the foundation for a full-fledged local police department, a project bolstered by the revenue generated from the cameras.

The city's history with the cameras has been turbulent. After the city council approved the initial installation in 2011, the program faced a legal challenge that eventually led to a suspension of operations. Following a court dismissal in 2014, leadership chose to reactivate the cameras in 2016, citing a 50% reduction in stop sign violations as evidence of their effectiveness.

Mayor Scott, who noted the cameras were non-functional when he took office in 2020, signed a new agreement with a third-party organization to bring them back online. He remains steadfast in his support of the program, citing a string of fatal accidents on Center Point Parkway—including a 2018 incident involving a city worker, a 2024 motorcycle fatality, and a 2025 collision—as proof of the need for stricter traffic enforcement.

“In the next six months to a year we will have something very tangible to bring to the residents, because public safety is a priority for us,” Scott said. He confirmed there are currently no discussions regarding the removal of the cameras, stating, “Hopefully in the next year or so, we will have an unveiling of cars, more frequent community drive-throughs, people actually seeing police cars in neighborhoods.”