Pittsfield Police Advisory Considering Increasing Traffic Fines
The Police Advisory Committee formed a subcommittee to look at the city's fine structure. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two city councilors are proposing adding a line item specifically for traffic enforcement and are asking the Police Advisory Committee to come up with some fees to help pay for it.
Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell and Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo asked the committee on Monday to review the fine structure for violations such as parking, jaywalking and commercial vehicles in restricted areas.
Connell also serves on the Traffic Commission and Mazzeo on the council's Finance Committee.
Some of those fines are too low in the city code to be worth enforcing but if the council approves the line item, Connell wants those enforced to help offset the additional overtime.
"We basically need more enforcement," Connell told the committee.
Connell said he has worked with Mazzeo, Chief Michael Wynn and Sgt. Mark Trapani for nearly 10 months looking at ways to increase enforcement. They looked at places like Lowell, which created a budget line for traffic enforcement and places fines into a revolving fund.
Pittsfield won't be creating a revolving account so instead, the fines would go back into the city's general fund. The group wants to prove the investment is worth it by having the fines pay for more than the allocated enforcement budget.
Connell is proposing about $75,000, which needs to be debated and approved by the full council, but says that is less than projected revenue.
The proposal wouldn't add any more officers but rather a certain number of shifts per year; those who work the extra shifts would be paid overtime. During those shift, the officers would only be enforcing traffic laws.
Lowell has seen greater enforcement of minor traffic violations, and other types of crime, said Mazzeo. "They can move crime out of an area."
The idea is similar to the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety operational model that identifies "hotspots," such as of vehicle crashes.
In that model, police deploy highly visible traffic enforcement in those hotspots and often find evidence of other criminal activity in those stopped for a violation. The results are that criminals move elsewhere to avoid being in that focused area.
But, Pittsfield's current fine structure won't offset enough of the cost. While the councilors don't have suggestions on which fines should be changed and by how much, they hope the committee will do that.
An example of the fines being low is in parking, according to Wynn. Later in Monday's meeting, Wynn said parking tickets are cheaper than most people pay for parking in other towns. There are people who would rather just pay the fine, he said. Another example is jaywalking, which according to city code is a $2 fine. Connell said a red light violation is $100 by state law and only $50 in the city code.
The committee asked if the increase is intended to be a deterrent or a revenue source, voicing concern that if the enforcement works then the fines would have to continually go up if counted as a revenue source. Wynn and Connell said it would be both.
Connell said the city needs the additional enforcement to reduce crime and handle traffic issues that the Traffic Commission can't take care of with police presence. But, in order to get approval from the mayor and the rest of the City Council, Connell said they need to prove the additional overtime will pay for itself and more.
Additionally, Wynn said if the violations are against city ordinances, the fines go to the city whereas if the violation is of state laws, the state takes a portion of it.
Ultimately, the committee formed a subcommittee to examine the city's fine structures, compare them to other communities and then make recommendations.
Tags: fines, traffic violations,
