Louisiana small towns are notorious for being speed traps, but a recent Governing report shows just how dependent some municipalities are on the fines cities get from traffic tickets and other offenses.
Given the report lists nine Louisiana hamlets among its top 15 fine-dependent local governments, the message is clear: Pay attention to the speed limit when driving in rural Louisiana—especially in pretty much any town north of I-10.
Fines are used to fund a significant portion of the budgets in hundreds of jurisdictions in the country. In fact. fines make up more than 10% of general fund revenues in nearly 600 U.S. jurisdictions, and in at least 284 of those towns, fines make up more than 20%.
Of the 600 towns are prevalently scattered throughout the rural south, with Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas hosting many of the towns. With more than 200 municipalities identified, Louisiana tops the list of having the most towns where fines make up more than 10% of its budget.
Diving even deeper, Louisiana towns snag the top eight spots—as well as No. 11—on the list. Topping them all is Georgetown, a village in Grant Parish with some 500 residents, where 92% of the local budget comes from fees. Right behind is Fenton, in Jefferson Davis Parish, which reported more than $1.2 million—or 91%—in fines as part of its 2017 general fund revenues.
State highways cut through central business districts for many small towns in the state, leaving some to say that it would be malfeasance if authorities didn’t aggressively patrol certain stretches of highways.
John Gallagher, head of the Louisiana Municipal Association, points to local governments’ tax collections, which doesn’t collect as much in property taxes compared to similar communities in other states.
Robert Scott, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, agreed that weakened tax bases are contributing to the problem, but told Governing it ultimately stems from localities’ ingrained habits.
“If I had to point to one reason why this happens, it’s because culturally you have [local] agencies who’ve grown dependent on these types of revenue sources,” he says. “They don’t want to let it go.” Read the full report.
