It's tough for some small-town governments to make ends meet. Low tax bases, few residents, no industry…a lack of traditional sources of income can make a town treasurer's job tough.
Unless you happen to be in one of those small towns scattered across America that's landed on a veritable gusher of money: speeding tickets.
These fines, usually handed out to people who are just passing through and have no knowledge that the hamlet they've entered is a speed trap.
But as Reason notes, that's just the beginning of how localities like Peninsula, Ohio have turning traffic tickets into a revenue bonanza:
Before vehicle owners can appear in municipal court to defend themselves, they must pay a $100 “filing fee.” No exceptions. No discounts. No deferrals. It's the cost of admission—roughly the same as a one-day ticket to Disneyland.
Many drivers skip the expense and plead guilty, which works well for Peninsula. In just the first five months after launching a handheld photo radar program in April 2023, this village south of Cleveland generated 8,900 citations and $560,000 in revenue. That's an average of about 1,800 citations and $110,000 in revenue per month.
These are staggering numbers for a community of just 536 residents. If revenue from the program continues at this rate, Peninsula could meet nearly its entire $1 million annual budget from traffic enforcement alone. Six police officers, rotating among nine strategic locations, could keep the village solvent with virtually no help from tax collectors.
That's…not how any of this is supposed to work – in large part because it's on the shakiest of constitutional grounds. As the Institute for Justice wrote in a letter to Peninsula's town fathers:
“Due process requires a meaningful opportunity to be heard before one is deprived of their property,” said Bobbi Taylor, a litigation fellow at IJ. “Forcing someone to pay a fee to defend themselves in court essentially puts the right to due process behind a paywall.”
But how else are local pols supposed to generate enough cash to support whatever it is they do all day? The Institute, though, does offer Peninsula a way out of its mess:
This continued violation of constitutional rights in a manner contrary to state law, and contrary to the state and federal constitutions is deeply concerning.
The Institute for Justice is, however, willing to work with municipalities who pursue their public safety goals while protecting constitutional rights and would be willing to discuss this matter further.
Or take it another way…clean up your act, or we'll see you in court (now about that $100 filing fee).
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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