Neptune Beach officials are moving to repeal the city’s ordinance authorizing automated speed-enforcement cameras in school zones, more than two years after the City Council approved the program.
The City Council unanimously approved an amended ordinance Monday on first reading, removing language that authorized automated cameras as a traffic-calming measure in school zones. The amendment also removed language stating that police presence and flashing lights provided adequate enforcement.
The ordinance will return to the council for a final reading Oct. 5.
Councilor Brent Rogers proposed the amendment. Although the ordinance removes the city’s authorization for the camera system, officials left open the possibility of revisiting automated enforcement if a future need arises.
Mayor Cori Bylund said she supported Rogers’ amendment but would not have supported the ordinance without the change.
“I disagree with that personally because I think the conclusion that we reached was that paragraph is not true,” Bylund said. “I have no problem moving forward to approve this ordinance deleting that paragraph, but right now for me it would be a no as it’s written. It would be a yes if we amend it.”
Neptune Beach approved its automated traffic-enforcement ordinance in March 2024 after a police traffic study found hundreds of speeding violations during school hours. The study recorded 200 violations at Neptune Beach Elementary School and 182 at Beaches Chapel School in a single day.
The cameras were later installed in designated school zones along Florida Boulevard and Seagate Avenue. The program required the cameras to operate only during school hours, when children were traveling to or from school. Citations were issued for vehicles traveling at least 11 mph over the posted speed limit and carried a $100 fine with no points against the driver’s record. A Neptune Beach police officer reviewed and approved each citation.
The program drew opposition before it was approved, including concerns that Neptune Beach could become a “surveillance city.” Residents also questioned whether more signage and flashing yellow lights could be an effective alternative to automated enforcement.
Before joining the City Council, Rogers argued that the police department should not outsource public safety to private companies operating for profit.
“Improving safety for the kids who are arriving and departing schools is a worthy cause, but outsourcing portions of policing to private corporations with a profit motive to issue fines to our residents and visitors is a significant change that shouldn’t be taken lightly,” Rogers said at the time.
Police Chief Michael Key Jr. defended the cameras as another tool for improving safety.
“We try to look at new innovations to keep our community safe, and this is one of them,” Key said when the program was being developed.
Key also emphasized that the purpose was enforcement, not revenue.
“There is clear signage currently today and it’s incumbent on the driver to pay attention to those signs and heed the warnings that are clearly posted,” Key said. “It is not about generating ticket revenue. This is about protecting our students, protecting our kids.”
The city said the program was designed to be funded by citation revenue, with fines covering the cost of the system. The $100 civil penalty was set by state law.
The cameras began operating in 2025 after a warning period. By that summer, Neptune Beach police reported a 92% decline in speeding violations in the monitored school zones, based on data from the camera program.
Despite those results, the Neptune Beach Police Department announced Sept. 2 that it had ended the school-zone speed-enforcement program. Key cited public feedback, recent legal developments involving license plate reader technology and a review of the program’s operational data.
