Speed Cameras Coming to Salisbury

Speed camera legislation passed the Salisbury City Council last night by a unanimous vote.  Upon the signature of Mayor Jim Ireton, the measure will allow the Salisbury City government to increase revenue in the name of public safety.

Salisbury’s police chief, Barbara Duncan, will determine the placement of the cameras near schools.  After 30 days of usage (during which warnings will be issued), any vehicle photographed exceeding 12 miles over the posted school zone speed limit will be issued a ticket.  According to the ordinance, fines are not to exceed $100.  While the ordinance does not specify, speed camera summonses are not subject to points on the owner’s driving record.

The cameras will be in operation Monday – Friday from 6AM – 8PM.  When asked by councilman Tim Spies, Chief Duncan was not clear as to how the system would work on week days when school was not in session or as to why the cameras would operate in the hours after school children had gone home.

Salisbury Council Gets Off to Uneventful Start

The newly constituted Salisbury city council began their tenure with fairly uneventful, two hour, first legislative session.  Every vote was unanimous.  Matters that may have been controversial, such as the speed camera legislation, were treated as though they were routine.
A little over one hour of the meeting was devoted to the presentation of Mayor Jim Ireton’s FY 2012 budget.  Staying on message, Ireton emphasized that Salisbury’s city government was doing more with less and that city employees were bearing the brunt of city cost cutting through the use of furloughs.
While it is true that city spending has seen a general decline (5.95%)  under Ireton’s stewardship, local attorney Bob Taylor pointed out during public comment that city spending has increased 55.46% from FY 2005 through FY 2012.  The FY 2012 budget, Ireton’s second, is a 5.88% increase over last year.

SAPOA President Calls Police on Salisbury Councilman

As reported in this morning’s Daily Times, Salisbury Area Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA) President Kris Adams filed a police report alleging that Salisbury city councilman Tim Spies "… insulted her and she perceived a threat". This incident occurred Monday evening in the council chambers after the swearing in of new council members.
No charges were filed. Spies was not even aware that the Salisbury Police had been called until Tuesday during the city council’s work session.
A few minutes after the incident, Spies spoke about it. According to Spies, Adams and her daughter Alex (a student at Salisbury University and the purported publisher of The Other Salisbury News blog) were sitting in the council chambers and Alex Adams began making faces at Spies while he was delivering his comments after being sworn in. This is confirmed by Mayor Jim Ireton. In a statement to the Daily Times, Ireton said:

"The Adams' family has a history of aggressive behavior with elected officials," he said in a written statement. "I watched the family heckle and make faces at Councilman Spies. This behavior is par for the course."

Similar behavior from Miss Adams was also witnessed during the Camden Neighborhood Association’s candidate forum prior to the recent council elections.
After the meeting, Kris Adams approached Spies. Spies stated that he asked Adams if her daughter “had a touch of Tourette’s”. Adams suggested that Spies ask her. She then brought her daughter up to Spies. When Spies asked her about making faces while he was speaking, she mumbled, “Oh, I didn’t think you saw that.”. A few moments later, Adams came up to Spies and accused him of “intimidating her family”.
At the time this story was relayed, it was considered a mildly humorous anecdote and not thought to be newsworthy. It wasn’t until Adams filed a police report that she made it so.