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No surcharges; bump the fines
In all commercial and public enterprises, there is a cost of doing business. Police cars don't magically appear on the streets, for example, and the fuel required to operate those vehicles isn't conjured out of nothing, either.
With gasoline selling for more than $4 per gallon -- busting budget forecasts from last year, which were made before anyone imagined fuel would cost as much as it does now -- governments have a choice to make: They can ask all taxpayers to fund the cost increases, or they can stick it to the people causing police to burn the high-priced fuel.
Ogden police and the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office are currently debating whether to add a "fuel surcharge" onto the fines for traffic violations.
Their argument: It amounts to what we typically call a "user fee" -- the only people affected are the people who directly use the service. In this case, that would be speeders, people who cause accidents, etc.
But here's the fact of the matter: The scofflaws aren't the only people who benefit from law enforcement's protection, so it's not really fair to single out the speeders and other traffic-law violators; all taxpayers should be helping to make up the difference for extra fuel costs. The people who benefit from rescue calls, roadside assistance and the like should be made to pay, we think.
The budget shortfall in Ogden is significant: $130,000 more was spent on fuel in the past fiscal year than had been budgeted. If the city council wants to recoup the cost of doing business, it should increase the amount charged in fines. The talked-about $20 surcharge, officials believe, will make up $55,000 to $60,000 of the deficit. It would be more, but according to Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner, 65 percent of traffic fines flow to the state, and the courts and city divide the remaining 35 percent.
Another benefit might be that the thought of an extra $20 or more tacked onto already steep fines for speeding or traffic accidents would encourage more people to drive responsibly: more slowly and more safely. We're not confident that will happen, but it might.
The city council should act on this right away, approving increases in fines, not "surcharges," to make up the added cost for gasoline in police vehicles.
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The Mayor and Council all knew going into the present years budget session that the fuel costs were skyrocketing, and the the previous years budget was overdrawn for fuel.
They had one time monies left over from last years budget, yet they vote to finance a Ice Tower, it seems the priorities are wrong.
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