City's traffic fine revenue return increases

By Tracy Clark Western News Staff Nov 12 2006 http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/
Traffic fine revenue announced for Penticton Friday will cover less than 10 per cent of the city's costs for policing. The $413,469 of traffic fine revenue was announced by Penticton-Okanagan MLA Bill Barisoff Friday, as part of the $50 million the province is returning to municipalities. "Over $400,000 in funding will be provided to the City of Penticton to increase various community safety, policing, crime prevention and education strategies," said Barisoff. "Increased safety and security of our residents is a priority." But director of corporate services Jack Kler said the traffic fine revenue that the city is receiving will go toward this year's policing costs. While the provincial funding is appreciated, it doesn't come close to covering the annual costs for policing in the city. The city is to pay $5.5 million for policing this year, up from just under $5 million last year, $5.1 million in 2004 and $4.7 million in 2003. It is the city's single largest expenditure, said Kler. In previous years the traffic fine revenue sharing program was an unconditional revenue source for cities, he said. This is the first year the province is directing the funds to security and safety programs. It is also the largest return the city has received. The amount has increased every year since 2003 when the city received $82,000. In 2004 the amount increased substantially to $342,000 and last year to $390,000. Since the program was expanded to provide municipalities with 100 per cent of traffic fine revenue in 2004, the province has issued more than $140 million. The revenue comes from traffic violation tickets that have been paid. The funding formula for each municipality is based on its contribution to policing costs in 2004.