Wayzata seeks 'some middle ground' on traffic tickets

When Wayzata police pull over someone for rolling through a stop sign, they choose between a warning and a $128 ticket.

Soon, they could have an in-between.

The city is getting ready to start issuing its own less-expensive traffic tickets for minor offenses -- such as biking through a red light, speeding through a neighborhood or rolling through a stop sign.

"Zero doesn't send a message, and $128 can be excessive," Police Chief Mike Risvold said. A fine of $65 gives "some middle ground."

Police in scores of Minnesota cities -- estimates range from 60 to 100 -- issue such local citations, and say they slow traffic, lower costs and prevent accidents.

But some state officials, including the attorney general in a 2003 opinion, have said city citations are illegal because state law requires uniform traffic tickets.

The past legislative session clarified little. Legislators introduced competing bills that would have allowed or explicitly banned city tickets. Neither passed.

"It leaves us at the status quo, which is a gray area," said Anne Finn, lobbyist for the League of Minnesota Cities.

State Auditor Rebecca Otto disagrees: "This is not a gray area," she said. "It is very clear that this is the state's territory. It's not local government's."

But she acknowledged that without the Legislature's help in creating penalties, there is little the state can do to stop local governments from issuing their own tickets. And cities know that, she said.

A February study by the Office of the State Auditor found that local governments' citation programs have the following in common: Cities keep all revenue collected from fines; the fines are generally less than with state traffic tickets; the tickets don't show up on an person's driving or insurance record; and drivers have the option of accepting a state traffic ticket, which they can contest.

Complaints about surcharge

Many cities surveyed by the auditor complained that with each regular traffic ticket, the state collects a surcharge, now $75. Local governments and boards then divide up the rest.

Chief Risvold used a typical $103 fine for a seat-belt violation as an example.

After the $75 state surcharge, "We're not sure where the other $28 goes, but none goes to us," he said. "We lose money when we write a ticket for a seat-belt violation. It costs us money. ... We don't think that's equitable."

When it became clear that legislation making city tickets legal was not going to pass last session, legislators wrote a bill requiring that traffic tickets "give conspicuous notice" of the state-imposed surcharge. It passed as part of a major transportation package.

Because of the surcharge, ticket fines often run $100-plus -- a fee many drivers consider worth contesting.

And that takes time and money in an already clogged court system, Finn said.

"Budgets are tight at the local level," she said, "and to pay an officer to defend writing a traffic ticket, you also have to pay that person's mileage and pay someone else to be in their place back in the city."

A revenue supplement

Many cities turned to local tickets after cuts to local government aid, or LGA, in 2003, according to the State Auditor's report. However, for most cities, it is not a significant source of income, it says.

In late 2003, the Minnesota attorney general issued an opinion stating that the practice was unlawful. And in late 2004, the state auditor agreed.

During 2004, not one additional city surveyed implemented new local citation programs, but since then, more cities have decided to.

"I really urge them not to," Otto said. "When I find out a locality is considering this, I call them and say, 'Please don't.'"

At a meeting Tuesday, Wayzata City Council member Suzanne Bangert questioned Risvold about officials' opinions that local citations are illegal: "Is that anything of concern or not?"

Not really, he said, pointing out that dozens of metro-area cities already have similar programs. "Based on the company we keep ... I have a comfort level."

Dealing with local concerns

Risvold also said the city tickets would address problems specific to Wayzata.

One section of the proposed ordinance, which the council could finalize Sept. 2, creates traffic tickets for bikers, with less-expensive fines. If a bicyclist were to ignore a stop sign, an officer could issue a ticket carrying a fine of $25.

Mayor Andrew Humphrey said that in the past year, he's received complaints about bikers ignoring traffic laws -- something he suspects will increase once the Dakota Rail Regional Trail is complete.

"So having the ability to appropriately enforce those rules I think will be all the more important," he said.

Like other cities, Wayzata will add city tickets but won't discontinue issuing regular ones, depending on the nature of the offense, Risvold said. The League of Minnesota Cities recommends that cities use state tickets for all impaired or reckless driving cases.

"If they deserve a big ticket, they'll get a big ticket," Risvold said.

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168