By SCOTT SMITH
Pleading “not guilty” to a speeding ticket could become a thing of the past in Kokomo, if city council passes an administration-backed motor vehicle ordinance.
Monday, the proposed new law cleared its first hurdle, passing council on first reading.
Council members, however, said they’ll need more time to digest the sweeping changes in the package before the second and possibly third readings.
Probably the biggest change being proposed is changing so-called “moving violations” from infractions — which are addressed by the Indiana Code — to city ordinance violations.
For the city of Kokomo, the change could mean additional revenue from violators.
Under the current system, a speeding ticket may either be paid (constituting an automatic “guilty” plea), or the motorist can plead “not guilty” and have a day in court.
Any fines collected under the current system are largely split between the state courts and the state of Indiana.
The city of Kokomo, according to city attorney Derek Sublette, receives about $3 from each ticket.
Monday, Sublette described a new system, whereby speeders would be ticketed for violating a city ordinance, similar to locals who are ticketed for noise and litter violations.
The majority of the fine would go directly to the city. The ordinance calls for $75 fines for speeding (up to 10 mph over the limit), and $150 fines for exceeding speeding limits by more than 10 mph. Violations like running stop signs and failure to yield will also draw a $75 fine.
Under the new system, motorists who disagree with the ticketing officer would simply decline to pay the ticket. It would then be the city’s responsibility to seek a civil judgment on the motorist through small claims court, Sublette explained.
Kokomo Police Chief Rob Baker told council members Monday he favors the ordinance.
“The guys would be more apt to go out and write tickets if that money came back to them,” Baker said.
“Not that we’re in the business of running speed traps,” he added. “We want to help protect the citizens of Kokomo.”
Baker’s comments were preceded by a general council discussion of how best to spend the potential future revenue.
Several council members spoke in favor of using the money exclusively to fund new police equipment.
“Why wouldn’t we put some of these funds into the police department, for training and such?” Councilman Bob Cameron, D-2nd asked.
Councilwoman Cindy Sanders, D-5th, countered by asking why the council wouldn’t decide how to spend the money.
“Why not put it into the general fund, and then we can budget it? To lock ourselves in ... I just don’t know,” Sanders said.
How much money the new system might raise, as well as questions on how the system would be administered, have yet to be answered.
Council members asked both Sublette and Baker how many tickets the city writes each year.
Both city officials said they couldn’t come up with an accurate count, saying some tickets are written on state roads, such as Washington Street, Markland Avenue and U.S. 31. Any tickets written on state roads would have to be written as state code violations, they said.
Sublette and Baker also held up Indianapolis and Noblesville as locales where tickets are written as local ordinance violations.
But Noblesville has a special court set up to handle individuals fighting their tickets, and Marion County uses the state courts to prosecute individuals who want to fight. Unlike the Kokomo proposal, both cities give ticketed individuals the option of pleading “not guilty” and obtaining a court date.
Sublette said he’s still working out the specifics of what the city will do to administer the new system, “but we want to make it so if they do contest the ticket, they’ll have to pay an increased fine.”
He said the city is considering the proposal to raise revenue in the midst of the economic downturn.
“It’s just to offset some of our recent losses,” he said.
• Scott Smith is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He may be reached at 765-454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com
