LILBURN, GA -- Those red light cameras that take pictures of your license plate when you blow through a red light may become a thing of the past.

It's not because they don't work. It's because they cost too much to operate for municipalities whose budgets are getting tighter.

The argument for red light cameras has always been safety. But now they may be coming down because of money. Five cities in Gwinnett County: Duluth, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville, and Suwanee have either suspended using the cameras, or stopped using them.

One reason may be that the cameras have been a success, discouraging violators, thereby reducing citations and the revenues they bring in. Bob Gravlee says he was nailed once by the cameras. Did they teach him a lesson? "Oh yeah, I'm much more careful going through that light," he said.

Ali Elnajjar says it cost him 75-bucks. He says he used to hit the gas when the light turned yellow. "When the light turns yellow I try to stop where in the past I would try to run through it," he said.

Lilburn City Manager Bill Johnsa says 1,600 citations were issued in January 2008. There were only 300 citations issued in January 2009. He says if the downward trend continues, they may have to decommission the lights. "The emphasis was put on safety and it still is. It's just how do you afford that? How do local governments afford that?" he said. The city pays 12-hundred dollars a day just for the red light service.

The city based its 2009 budget projections on the lights bringing in 1.2-million dollars in revenue. Johnsa says they won't come close to that figure if the trend continues.

Johnsa thinks a new Georgia law that went into effect December 31st, is partly responsible for the downward trend in citations. The law extended the length of a yellow transition light by one second.

Lilburn has suspended issuing citations for 90-days to see if the downward trend continues. If it does, the city council will have to make a tough decision. Johnsa says they have three options: to continue using the red light cameras, to decommission them, or go back to the vendor and try to renegotiate to reduce the cost.

If they are decommissioned, they take the chance that drivers have short memories. Will they continue to be safe at intersections? "I think probably I would go back to my old habits," Elnajjar said.

So far it is the small municipalities that have to make the tough decisions about the cameras. Counties like Gwinnett have much large budgets and are not considering dropping the cameras yet.