Seems the local motorcycle/traffic officer has been very busy
lately. I was just wondering, how much revenue does this single cop
bring in and what portion, if any, of those monies does the city
actually take in?
“Seems the local motorcycle/traffic officer has been very busy lately. I was just wondering, how much revenue does this single cop bring in and what portion, if any, of those monies does the city actually take in?
Red Phone: Dear Watching the Watchers, Red Phone contacted Cmdr. David Swing, who did a little research and discovered – among other things – that it is not as simple as one would think. First, your observations are correct. officer Steve Pennington has been busy, not just lately but for the past three years since he was assigned to traffic.
“A little known fact about officer Pennington is that he issues warnings in 35 percent of his contacts and has made the second or third highest number of DUI arrests during the Holiday season in Santa Clara County for the past three years,” Swing said. So, yes there is an opportunity to make money, the problem is the city receives very little of each ticket issued.
As for traffic fines, according to Marvin Bell from the Superior Court, revenue from a standard ticket is dispersed accordingly: After an initial 2 percent assessment, the county receives 11 percent of the base fine and the local jurisdiction receives 89 percent. But that is 89 percent of the base fine. In addition to that base fine there are penalties and fees. The penalties add up to 280 percent of the base fine and the fees are another $76. Therefore a violation with a $100 base fine actually costs the violator $456 plus money for traffic school; however, out of the $456, the local jurisdiction receives $87.22 or about 19 percent of the sum of fines, penalties, and fees.
“Some tickets, like red light violations, have a different schedule where the local jurisdiction receives a percentage of the State and County penalties and a higher allotment of the base fine,” Swing said.
Hope that answers your questions, good caller.
‘Yield’ will be changed back
“Dear Red Phone, soon after the recent repaving of Llagas Road and the surrounding streets, crews came along to repaint the various road markings. Overnight, the right turn lane where westbound Llagas makes a 45 degree turn at Teresa Lane and Rose Orchard Court, went from a ‘YIELD’ to a ‘STOP.’ Who decided this and why? I keep thinking that maybe the painting crew made a mistake and they’ll come along and change it back to a ‘yield.’ I know that it’s a little thing, but I’m sure I’m not the only one that drives that road everyday and finds the change annoying.”
Red Phone: Dear Questioning Authority, Red Phone contacted Mori Struve, deputy director of public works, who said you are correct, the “Stop” at westbound Llagas Road continuing north on Llagas Road was a “Yield” prior to the resurfacing.
“The ‘Stop’ legend and bar were placed in error,” Struve said. “We are blacking the ‘Stop’ legend out Monday, later removing it permanently, and restoring the ‘Yield’ legend.
Good caller, Struve passed along thanks for pointing it out.
