DARIEN, Ga. - You're driving through a Georgia town or county, glance in your rear view mirror and see something that's going to cost you big time. Blue lights.
You broke the law. But did that city or county do something equally troubling? Are they relying too much on ticket money to keep their budget in the black?
In 2016, lawmakers approved legislation aimed at reducing the chance of communities running a speed trap. It limits speeding ticket revenue to 35 percent of the law enforcement budget. Any ticket for speeding over 20 miles above the speed limit is exempt. But go over that 35 percent limit and the police agency can lose its permit to run radar or laser.
Few do. But critics say that law has done little to curb our state's dependence on fines and fees.
But a nationwide study by the online magazine Governing.com 2019 found nearly 100 Georgia cities relying on ticket money to fund at least 10 percent of their annual revenues. Places like Jonesboro (35%), Pine Lake (22%) and Stone Mountain (22%).
Darien is even higher. The coastal town was founded in 1736, the second oldest planned city in Georgia. It currently relies on ticket money from all violations to cover 46 percent of its revenues.
People line up for court day in Darien. Most of them don't live in the city.
"I think the basic insinuation is that we're doing something wrong," complained Darien city manager Tim Sweezey. "And that is simply not the case."
The fishing in Darien is legendary. On one side they haul in shrimp from the Atlantic Ocean. On the other, they haul in super-speeders from Interstate 95.
"If you was fishing, I'd say any stretch of 95 is a good fishing hole," admitted Darien police lieutenant Anthony Brown.
A four-mile stretch of I-95 is inside the Darien city limits, even though the main part of town is a couple miles away. We watched Lt. Brown stand outside his police cruiser, carefully aiming his Lidar laser gun back and forth in both directions. He routinely clocked drivers going at least 80 in the 70 miles per hour zone. He won't pull anyone over unless they're going 85. But for this seasoned cop, it really is like shooting fish in a barrel.
"So you could be out here 24/7 and write tickets," I asked.
"Yes. Correct."
Lt. Brown's official mission for this town of nearly 2000 people: public safety. But some see something far more troubling in a speeding ticket.
"I think the city should dwell in the city and take care of problems that arise in the city and not be out on the Interstate," complained Joseph Howle from Hartsville, SC. He agreed not to fight his speeding ticket in exchange for a fine reduction. It still cost him $248 cash to put Darien in his rear view mirror.
Darien has an annual budget of $4.1 million. In one year, they collected about $1.9 million dollars in fines and fees.
"If we're relying on fines and fees to raise revenue for a city, that means in order to keep the budget up we need there to be more crime," pointed out Weiss from the Fines and Fees Justice Center. "That's not sustainable."
Darien city leaders maintained they're doing nothing wrong. So they invited the FOX 5 I-Team to come see how it works. We sat through a morning court docket, drivers showing up to plead their case to judge
FULL STORY: www.fox5atlant...
29 авг 2024
