Police Agencies Fold in St. Louis Area as Ticket Blitzes Stop
(Bloomberg) The aftermath of racial turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri, is exacting a toll on St. Louis-area communities that built their finances around speeding tickets, thanks to a state law limiting the income they can draw from traffic fines.
The city council of Charlack last week decided the community of 1,400 can’t afford an eight-officer police force under the new law, which says traffic citations in St. Louis County municipalities can’t exceed 12.5 percent of annual operating revenue, down from 30 percent. Policing in Charlack and in nearby Wellston, which dissolved its 23-officer force in May, is now handled by a recently created cooperative of local departments.
The 2014 police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson forced a national re-examination of what critics call “taxation by citation,” a situation exacerbated by the sheer number of departments, 18,000 throughout the U.S. A bill is pending in Congress to restrict the amount of revenue local governments can collect from traffic citations. In St. Louis County, which has 90 municipalities and 59 individual police departments, more communities are expected to follow the lead of Charlack and Wellston.
“This will have lawmakers around the country taking a second look at their agencies and making certain that the sole purpose of their existence is not for revenue, but to serve the public interest,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington nonprofit. “Police departments should not exist if their sole purpose is to generate revenue. That’s what we have tax collectors for.” ...................(more)
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-10-22/police-agencies-fold-in-st-louis-area-as-ticket-blitzes-stop
= new reply since forum marked as read
get out while the getting is good.
For example, look at this-
Dallas County, TX
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 909 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 873 square miles (2,260 km2) is land and 36 square miles (93 km2) (4.0%) is water.[3]
Communities[edit]
Cities[edit]
Balch Springs
Cedar Hill*
Carrollton*
Cockrell Hill
Combine*
Coppell*
Dallas*
DeSoto
Duncanville
Farmers Branch
Ferris*
Garland*
Glenn Heights*
Grand Prairie*
Grapevine*
Hutchins
Irving
Lancaster
Lewisville*
Mesquite*
Ovilla*
Richardson*
Rowlett*
Sachse*
Seagoville*
University Park
Wilmer
Wylie*
*Denotes a city whose physical boundaries extend beyond Dallas County
Towns[edit]
Addison
Highland Park
Sunnyvale
St. Louis County, MO
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 523 square miles (1,350 km2), of which 508 square miles (1,320 km2) is land and 15 square miles (39 km2) (2.9%) is water.[32]
Ballwin
Bella Villa
Bellefontaine Neighbors
Bellerive
Bel-Nor
Bel-Ridge
Berkeley
Beverly Hills
Black Jack
Breckenridge Hills
Brentwood
Bridgeton
Calverton Park
Champ
Charlack
Chesterfield
Clarkson Valley
Clayton (county seat)
Cool Valley
Country Club Hills
Country Life Acres
Crestwood
Creve Coeur
Crystal Lake Park
Dellwood
Des Peres
Edmundson
Ellisville
Eureka
Fenton
Ferguson
Flordell Hills
Florissant
Frontenac
Glencoe
Glendale
Glen Echo Park
Grantwood Village
Greendale
Green Park
Hanley Hills
Hazelwood
Hillsdale
Huntleigh
Jennings
Kinloch
Kirkwood
Ladue
Lakeshire
Mackenzie
Manchester
Maplewood
Marlborough
Maryland Heights
Moline Acres
Normandy
Northwoods
Norwood Court
Oakland
Olivette
Overland
Pacific
Pagedale
Pasadena Hills
Pasadena Park
Pine Lawn
Richmond Heights
Riverview
Rock Hill
Shrewsbury
St. Ann
St. John
Sunset Hills
Sycamore Hills
Town and Country
Twin Oaks
University City
Uplands Park
Valley Park
Velda City
Velda Village Hills
Vinita Park
Vinita Terrace
Warson Woods
Webster Groves
Wellston
Westwood
Wilbur Park
Wildwood
Winchester
Woodson Terrace
The smallest towns in population are Champ with a 2010 population of 13,[60] Country Life Acres (population 74)[60] and Mackenzie (population 134);[60
