>Time for a boycott: Towns make up revenue loss with more tickets
With the summer driving season quickly approaching us this is a good reminder for drivers to slow down and also avoid towns altogether that write excessive tickets due to budget constraints perhaps even boycott towns all together that are looking to raise revenue through excessive ticket writing schemes .
Towns make up revenue loss with more tickets
6:24 AM, Mar. 6, 2011
Column by
BOB INGLE
TRENTON — Last week we discussed how so many towns have so many cops and so little crime and pondered what they all do. The answer is they write a lot of tickets to make up for lost municipal aid from Trenton.
In an impressive investigation, the Asbury Park Press found the top 20 ticket-writing towns and cities lost an average of $2.9 million in state aid last year. You think that’s a coincidence? The investigation showed each municipality wrote an average of 8,300 additional tickets in the last half of 2010 which could translate into $830,000 more per town from fines.
This story is a must read. It’s in print today, on line Tuesday, March 8.
When asked about the ticket increase, officials said the sped-up activity has nothing to do with a dwindling flow of cash from the state treasury. They would have us believe it was stepped up because they’re concerned for our safety.
