GIRARD, Ohio - There is new information on the use of traffic cameras used to catch speeders in Ohio.

In a 5-2 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court voted in favor of cities and townships using traffic cameras without a law enforcement officer present to witness the violation. 

The state's highest court has previously ruled twice for Ohio cities using cameras. 

It was in early or mid-2004, that's well over 10 years ago when an unmanned traffic camera first appeared in Girard and citations were delivered to speeders.

Some members of the community were up in arms at that time, and some of those people who were ticketed hired attorneys and refused to pay their fines suspecting the ticketing method was unconstitutional at the time.

Now fast forward to today's Ohio Supreme Court ruling.  Law enforcement officers are no longer required to witness the traffic violation.  That means the camera or photo-monitoring device can become the primary traffic enforcement tool according to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Girard Mayor James Melfi says he likes the idea of a manned camera and that's what Girard plans to stick with.

"I really think it's more beneficial to the public to have a manned camera.  I know the criticism of an unmanned camera. It's simply to take in more money, and you can make that argument. But also, it does slow down traffic and that's been proven. I would prefer the manned camera," Mayor Melfi said.

Mayor Melfi says no one likes to get a speeding ticket, whether it's from a police officer or a device, and nobody likes to pay for it.  But the money that has been collected is going right back into the community here.

"In this particular case, this year we've ordered three new cruisers, without using any tax dollars.  And we're going to pave this summer a half-a-million dollars additionally in our streets," Mayor Melfi tells 21 News.

The bottom line, the goal is to slow down drivers and hopefully save lives.