If at first you don't succeed, lie like a rug

If you're one of the thousands of scofflaws who received red light camera tickets from the City of Houston but haven't paid, you probably received a letter warning you that failure to pay the ticket could prevent you from renewing your vehicle registration.

The only problem is that Harris County has refused to cooperate with the city in withholding vehicle registrations over fears that county revenues may be affected if fewer motorists are able to renew their vehicle registration. Of course the Houston Police Department sees nothing wrong with the letters and deny that they are part of a scare campaign being waged by the city and ATS, Inc. out of Scottsdale, Arizona (the provider of the camera equipment).

"This is a State of Texas issue, and our agreement is with the state of Texas; it is their registration to issue and it is their registration to place a hold on. If Harris County chooses not to take action on that, that is their responsibility.“ -- Vicki King, Asst. HPD Chief

Is there any need for further evidence that the red light cameras are nothing more than a money grab by the city? They make the tickets a civil matter so that the city doesn't have to prove who was driving the car, municipal courts ignore the fact that ATS is providing security services without being licensed by the state and now the lying campaign has begun.

Oh what will they dream up next over at 1200 Travis?

As an aside, I'm one of those scofflaws and I did receive the letter in question -- the day after I walked into the county tax office on Pech Road and renewed the registration to my car.