PROVIDENCE — The city’s red-light camera system has grown dramatically since the first cameras appeared on Chalkstone Avenue last April.

There was one intersection with traffic cameras then. Today there are 15 intersections, and at least 25 cameras.

City officials touted the program as an effective tool in reducing car accidents. And while reluctant to cite money as a motivation, the city projected revenues of $1.9 million from the program this fiscal year.

Providence police officer Lewis Perrotti conducts a daily review of the city’s red-light camera system, to confirm that the driver ran a red light.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

But preliminary data has shown no reduction in traffic accidents. And figures provided by the city suggest that the red-light cameras may cost as much as they bring in.

Meanwhile, Providence is expected to add more cameras in the coming months. And several Rhode Island communities, such as Warwick and Cranston, are considering adding the system, should the General Assembly permanently extend the law allowing the cameras, currently set to expire in July 2008.

“Most people’s apprehension is that it’s Big Brother. But let’s face it: you can’t go anywhere in today’s society without getting videotaped doing something somewhere,” said Rep. John McCauley, D-Providence, who introduced the initial law on the city’s behalf and sponsors a measure this session to lift the sunset provision. “It doesn’t cost the city anything. If it does, in fact, cut down on automobile accidents and raises revenue at the same time, then I think it’s successful.”

Providence took in $315,297 in the first 12 months of the program. By law, the city gave the state one-third of the total revenue, and paid the Texas-based vendor, Affiliated Computer Services, $153,673, according to information provided by the city officials.

That left the city with about $56,500 — not including the cost of at least eight municipal employees who dedicate some time to the program each week in various capacities.

McCauley noted that any surplus is “newfound revenue for the city.”

But revenue has fallen far short of expectations.

Providence officials budgeted projected revenues of $1.9 million from the camera program the last fiscal year, according to the mayor’s spokeswoman, Karen Southern. And it has projected another $1.9 million for the current fiscal year.

“I know the city’s not making as much right now on the revenue side. Eventually it will,” said Alan R. Sepe, Providence’s acting director of public property, who calls himself the city’s “point man” on the camera program. He largely attributed inaccurate projections to the slow rollout of the system and the high rate of tickets returned by the post office because of bad mailing addresses provided by the state.

As the city lags below its revenue projections, ACS’ fees have been growing.

A five-year contract signed in 2004 requires the city to pay ACS — recently ranked Number 424 on the Fortune 500 list — $4,550 each month for each site where the cameras are installed. With at least 25 cameras, the city’s monthly bill is $113,750 — about as much as the program grossed all of last year.

THE RED-LIGHT CAMERA ticketing program isn’t supposed to be about the money, according to Providence police Lt. Timothy Lee.

“We’re not in the business of making money; we’re in the public safety business,” he said. “How much the city makes, how much the city loses on this program, I really don’t care. If we can condition people in this state or in the city of Providence to stop at red lights, then we’ve done something.”

Lee’s office is charged with reviewing every one of the photos and short video clips of suspected violations before a $75 citation is mailed out. The police match license-plate numbers from the photos to registration information from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

About 20 percent of the tickets never make it to the recipient because of incorrect addresses, according to city officials.

The potential violations are first screened by local ACS employees, who have an office on Atwells Avenue. They post the information on a Web site reviewed by police officers in Lee’s office.

One officer is assigned to review the tickets, which are civil violations and don’t count toward license points or affect insurance rates. But up to five officers help review the violations during busy times. And it’s getting busier by the month.

Last year’s data indicates the city issued on average 14 tickets each day. So far this year, there are nearly 50 because of the additional cameras. In all, 8,651 tickets have been issued since the program began.

“It’s taking up more and more time and we’re having other people help out,” Lee said of the review process. “There are man hours involved, make no mistake about it. There are times we spend a lot of time on this. And I anticipate it’s going to take more and more time.”

Despite the strain on his office, Lee said he generally supports the program. He acknowledged that the data thus far hasn’t shown a reduction in accidents at the intersections with cameras, but said “the program is just in its infancy.”

“I think it’s common sense to assume that if we can lessen the amount of red-light running, we can lessen the number of collisions,” he said.

Sepe, the director of city property, says he talks to ACS most days about camera maintenance and system issues. There are at least two other city employees who spend time working on the program — a revenue agent and a city engineer.

Sepe says it’s not fair to measure the camera program using financial performance alone. He offered anecdotal evidence that the violations at one intersection have fallen in recent months, suggesting that fewer people are running red lights as they become aware of the cameras.

“The system is working — people are learning not to go through red lights,” he said. “If you look at it, we’re not making much money on it, but these are the beginning stages of the program.”

RHODE ISLAND is the only state within nearly 400 miles to allow red-light camera ticketing, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The national organization reports that at least 19 states have passed laws allowing red-light cameras in some capacity, with Maryland being the closest.McCauley said that his bill to lift the sunset provision on Rhode Island’s law was not his top priority this session. The proposal was recently heard before the House Finance Committee and held for further consideration.

Committee Chairman Steven M. Costantino, D-Providence, noted that legislators didn’t need to act this session. The current law expires July 2008 — giving lawmakers enough time to extend the program next year if they want to.

McCauley offered this advice for those who don’t like the cameras: “Don’t run a red light and you won’t get a ticket.”

speoples@projo.com