RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio’s City Hall will grant a bonus of 1.2 salaries to employees of CET-Rio and the Municipal Transportation Secretariat should the city increase its revenues from electronic traffic fines (speed radars and speed humps) by up to 65.28% over the 2021 budget.
The goal is to reach a record collection of R$291.9 (US$56) million, against the R$176.6 million projected. But, to this end, an increase in the number of inspection points and even a bonus for employees of the Administrative Boards of Infraction Appeals (JARIS), which review drivers’ arguments to overturn fines, is being considered. This initiative is causing controversy, including a potential conflict of interest.
Responsible for coordinating the program known as Acordo de Resultados (Results Agreement), which also involves goals related to taxes such as IPTU (property tax) and ISS (service tax), Municipal Secretary of Finance and Planning Pedro Paulo Carvalho says that the city will only play the effective role of controlling traffic.
He denies that it would be an instrument of revenue collection, because there are criteria pre-defined by the National Traffic Department (DENATRAN) to determine where the equipment would be installed – the deployment must be justified with statistics on accidents and data on deaths and injuries in the selected points.
“The results agreement focuses on instruments to create revenue. We started with many speed radars turned off. The city will play its role as a monitoring agent. Therefore, the goal in this case is not revenue collection,” argues Pedro Paulo.
The measure basically involves three types of electronic monitoring: speed control, traffic control signals and monitoring of BRT (rapid bus transit) and BRS (rapid bus service) lanes.
The proposal to use more speed radars is contained in an internal report that served as the basis for setting the goal. To reach the goal, it would be necessary to increase the number of inspection points by 40 (from 829 to 869). The estimated cost to rent the equipment is R$12 million, which would generate an additional revenue of R$18.5 million. In other words, there would be R$6.5 million net left over for the city government.
The initiative comes after a plunge in collection from electronic fines in 2020, from a record R$231.8 (US$44) million in 2018 to R$32.9 (US$6.3) million last year. The frustrated collection occurred due to a DENATRAN resolution that suspended the issuing of fines nationwide between February 26th and November 30th, 2020, due to the pandemic. On the streets, the attempt to reverse this situation is met with criticism.
“It’s unfair to those who drive. You get a fine of almost R$300 for picking up a passenger,” says Amadeu Augusto, a cab driver who was fined R$293 for stopping to pick up a passenger in São Cristóvão, outside a supermarket.
The agreement also has intermediate goals. If it manages to increase revenue to R$265 million through operational improvements alone (such as the reduction of the processing time by Iplan) employees would earn 1 extra salary. To earn 1.1 salary, revenue would have to reach R$278.7 million.
In the case of the bonus equivalent to 1.2 salaries, the City Hall would distribute approximately R$650,000 in bonuses for CET-Rio and SMTR employees.
Of this total, more than R$300,000 would be distributed to just two sectors: R$164,000 for employees of the Information and Traffic Safety Management (who decide on the placement of speed radars) and R$169,300 for the maintenance and traffic signaling management, which, among other activities, is in charge of the maintenance of warning signs indicating the presence of traffic control equipment.
In the Results Agreement, the City Hall estimates that it will be possible to collect an additional R$1.5 billion to R$2 billion. The bonuses would be paid until the end of the first half of 2021. Collection targets were also established in other areas, such as the Active Debt and also with the exploitation of real estate assets, such as the attempt to sell the Cícero Penna school land, in Copacabana.
Measure sparks controversy
Specialists criticize the city government’s proposal for fines. Armando Monteiro de Souza, president of the OAB-RJ (Brazilian Bar Association of Rio de Janeiro) Traffic Committee, says that the taxpayer would be disadvantaged.
“An initiative like this is absurd: rather than promoting traffic education, it penalizes the taxpayer. It is unacceptable that the party responsible for inspecting traffic is a party interested in the application of fines,” he says, and he may propose that the OAB-RJ filed a lawsuit against the city government.
Fernando Diniz, president of NGO Trânsito Amigo, says that he will urge the City Hall to reconsider the idea of bonus for public servants.
While attorney Pedro Neiva, who specializes in Business and Tax Law, expects an increase in the number of lawsuits contesting the fines: “Misjudgments may increase, making room for lawsuits.”