MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Starting Thursday, drivers are no longer receiving tickets from school zone speed detection cameras in most of Manatee County.

During Tuesday’s board meeting, commissioners voted to end the program by a vote of 5 to 2.

More than 55,000 drivers were issued citations from the speed detection cameras in school zones in the county since they were put in place last year.

Liz Gabrick is one of them.

“These are the citations that I received at the beginning of January 2025. I was shocked to receive them in the mail. I had no idea about the cameras,” she explained.

She took matters into her own hands by taking pictures of the camera.

“I’m going to use this footage for my court appearance on March 26th. I have several tickets that I need to dispute,” she said.

Gabrick was issued $300 worth of tickets over the last two months. One of her arguments is that the camera in front of Tara Elementary isn’t located where it should be.

“FDOT has specific guidelines on where the camera is supposed to be placed and how far the signs are supposed to be,” she said.

She is also upset with how the county implemented the cameras.

“It’s not only the commissioners deeming it a money grab, but it wasn’t set up properly,” she said.

Commissioner Tal Siddique agrees that it wasn’t set up properly.

“I was very much against how we were not informing the public about when we were enforcing it, and I think many people were confused,” he said.

However, he did not want to end the program and voted against eliminating it.

“The cameras served a good purpose. I’m sad that we’re losing our visibility on this problem. And I know the county would be blamed if someone gets hit,” he said.

But some commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting stated that the program’s intended purpose — adding protection for students — was not being met.

“It doesn’t serve the public, it does not protect the child’s safety, and it doesn’t do any of those things right now. I think this is something we need to get rid of completely,” said Commissioner Bob McCann.

One commissioner suggested that instead of cameras, there should be more deputies at school locations.

“We do spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the sheriff’s department, so we need to utilize them,” Commissioner Jason Bearden said.

Commissioner Bob McCann compared the speed detection cameras to a money grab.

“Georgia is doing this already at the legislative level, and other localities are saying it’s a money grab,” he said.

Tal Siddique also asked about refund options.

“I initially raised the question of how we could ask for refunds, but when I spoke to the clerk and our staff, it became apparent to me that we couldn’t. And morally, I just felt that it wasn’t right,” he explained.

Now, residents will have to decide whether to fight their tickets or pay them. All citations issued through March 5 remain valid, county officials stated.

Siddique confirmed that there will be no refunds at this time.

Spectrum News has reached out to RedSpeed regarding whether the cameras are faulty or have over-ticketed people, but we have not heard back.

According to the Bradenton Police Department, speed cameras in the city's school zones will not be affected by the county's decision and will remain in operation.