Money from red-light camera tickets still must be used only on traffic safety projects. The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 4-1 to reject a proposal that would have removed restrictions on how red-light revenue is spent.

An executive at the company that provides red-light cameras in Spokane has been suspended after a newspaper in Western Washington discovered he misrepresented himself as a local resident on its website and made comments to promote business in the area, a company spokesman said Friday. Bill Kroske, the vice president of business development at American Traffic Solutions Inc., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., also posted comments on The Spokesman-Review’s website. The Herald, of Everett, reported that it tracked posts made by Kroske to the company in Arizona, and that he had signed up for the Herald’s website using his real name and work email.

Spokane’s red light cameras will stay in operation at least three more years. The Spokane City Council on Monday voted unanimously to extend the law that authorizes the city to catch red light runners with cameras through Nov. 13, 2013. Otherwise it would have expired at the end of next month.

Local attorney John Clark challenged Spokane's system of issuing tickets from red light cameras, arguing Thursday in Spokane Municipal Court that the city is not following well-established law.