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Just in time for the holidays, the Albuquerque City Council has blacked out the controversial red-light camera program.

With five of nine members present, the council on Monday approved a bill prohibiting the city from fining drivers for citations generated by the cameras at 20 intersections around town.

The measure could still be vetoed by Mayor Martin Chavez.

But the real gift, city officials said, has come in a reduction in the number of citations issued - an indication the program is changing drivers' behavior.

"In reality, the system is working," Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said.

Newly elected council President Brad Winter's bill called for stopping the collection of fines until a task force convened by Chavez to study the red-light program issues its report Jan. 15.

It passed 3-2, with Councilors Isaac Benton and Debbie O'Malley voting against it. Councilors Sally Mayer, Trudy Jones, Ken Sanchez and Don Harris were absent.

Winter said the program - which uses cameras to catch speeders and red-light runners - is fraught with problems. He also said it's been mismanaged, saying it has generated more than $5 million in excess revenue that has been used to balance the city budget when it was meant to pay for the cameras or other law enforcement programs.

He and other councilors also questioned whether the program has truly been a deterrent to crashes at city intersections, and they criticized the program for using a city-appointed hearing officer rather than an independent traffic court to adjudicate appeals.

"Frankly, I basically have heard no evidence that it's doing any good when it comes to reducing fatalities," Councilor Michael Cadigan said. "Maybe it is; maybe it isn't."

Schultz showed the councilors graphs that he also has presented to the red-light task force. They show how, at certain intersections across the city, the number of citations spiked and then have dropped significantly in recent months.

Schultz declined to provide copies of the graphs, saying they were copies provided to the task force and not yet to the public.

"The resounding message that's included in that . . . is that the public has seen a change in the driving behavior," Schultz said. "For the past several months, we've seen the number of red-light violations be very minor."

Benton said while the program needed some improvement, he still couldn't support the bill.

"I do believe in the short term, and especially during the holidays, it's not something I can support," he said.

Still, Schultz couldn't persuade the remaining majority of the City Council, which included newcomer Rey Gardu¤o, to hold off on halting the fines.

Winter said the mayor has 10 days to take action on the bill. It's possible the council could reactivate the program once it studies the task force's findings to see whether it's worthwhile, he said.

"If this program works, great; let's continue it," Winter said.