Say Anything Blog

Robertson County Times - The city of Coopertown’s 2005-06 budget will see almost a million dollar increase in revenue from last year due to community development and increased ticketing by police officers. . . .

...a large portion of the revenue will come from the Coopertown Police Department, said Mayor Danny Crosby.

Records on display in Coopertown City Hall show that it had cost the city approximately $448,979 between the years of 1998 to 2004 to fund the police department.

For example, during the fiscal year 2003-04, the police department had appropriated funds of $125,123, which were entirely spent, but revenue in the form of court fines only totaled $17,689 leaving a total of $107,434 as a burden for the taxpayers.

“In response, Coopertown lowered speed limits and began enforcing them creating a big jump in revenue,” said Crosby.

“A big jump happens with good management. We are trying to get the citizens of Coopertown to feel safer on our roads and have a police force that not only creates money for the city, but adds safety to the roadways.

Since when was law enforcement supposed to generate revenues? Aren't speed limits supposed to be set and exist for safety reasons rather than another way for the government to get into your wallet? And doesn't increasing the amount of fines handed out seem like a rather inefficient way to collect more revenue? Sure they get more money, but they expend more money in that more officer time is required to enforce the new lower speed limits, more clerks are needed to process the additional paperwork and tickets, more court time is needed for disputed citations and more bureaucrats are needed to issue warrants and collect money on past-due fines.

Why not just raise property taxes or sales taxes to get more money for the police department. If more money is even really needed. Seems to me that a police department that has to change the rules to keep its officers busy is need of less funding, not more.