Those cameras meant to catch speeding drivers may be making a return in Youngstown if a proposal before the city's safety committee gains traction.

This time, they would be aimed and keeping children safe at school. 

The proposal sounds like a win-win: Youngstown gets cameras for every school zone and they're paid for out of ticket revenue, meaning they cost the city nothing.

"Every side of town has a school and people exceed the speed limit and if the cameras are there, people start getting notices getting tickets they'll pay attention again," Safety Committee Chair and Councilwoman Anita Davis said. 

But is it too good to be true? Davis said state law allows for the cameras but acknowledges it could lead to an unintended hit to the cities finances.

"We can use speed cameras, but on a dollar to dollar basis, we can lose revenue that was passed through the state a long time ago," she said, "But the use of the speed cams in the school zone specifically, that's still completely permitted because it's designed to slow people down in the school's zones."

Assistant Law Director Dan Dascenzo said he reviewed this specific contract between the city and a company called "Blue Line" which would supply the cameras to the city and said as it stands under state law, cities lose a dollar in state funding for every dollar they raise from speed cameras.

Still, Davis said she believes they need to find a way to make the cameras worth it.

"It's about driver safety. It's about pedestrian safety," she said, "There is a reason we have speeding limits. They're not just arbitrarily set, they're set for a reason based on scientific studies."