09.30.2008 8:34 am
Hearing today on plan to divvy up red-light camera cash
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Aldermen will hear a proposal this morning on a push to put some of the revenue raised from red-light traffic areas back into the neighborhood.
Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr.’s wants 2o percent of the city’s take on each camera citation to benefit the ward where the violation occurred.
Under Bosley’s plan, the money, about $13.75 per a ticket, would go into a ward improvement fund, an account controlled by each alderman that can be used for anything from parks to streetlights.
The bill will be heard not by the Traffic Committee — which Bosley chairs — but by the Ways and Means Committee, controlled by Alderman Stephen Conway.
One question Conway is sure to hear, if not ask himself: How is the plan fair to wards with no red-light cameras?
I am shocked, shocked that this is a money grab on behalf of the Alderman. I am sure that some will say that this is all about safety, are you pro-automobile accident? The government has found a way to get more of our money, without much of an outcry, yet.