Lead feet leave city coffers flush with cash

Once again, Prince Rupert residents are putting money into the city's bank account through their apparent frequent need for speed and other motor vehicle distractions...

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The annual cheque cutting exercise from the Provincial government has taken place, as municipalities across the province benefit from the enforcement of the provinces traffic regulations, providing for some needed financial windfalls for many towns and cities.

Opinion 250 has provided a chart of those communities surrounding Prince George, and for those north and west of that city, Prince Rupert has placed third in revenue generation when it comes to traffic fines paid out.

Prince Rupert's traffic section recorded $251,705 in revenue for the city in 2008, with only Fort St. John at $312,547 and Prince George with $1,360,445 ahead of of us.

By comparison, Terrace's driving public only contributed $223,942 in revenue generation while Smithers was positively parsimonious and apparently law abiding with but $92,043 collected as the municipal share of the fines.

The participating communities receive their share based on their contributions to total municipal policing costs.

Overall in British Columbia, the province returned some 63 million dollars to communities across the province as their share of the revenues.

Canadian Press-- B.C. benefits from lead-footed largesse as province returns traffic fine cash

CTVBC-- B.C. reaps traffic fine windfall from speeders

Poor driving habits made the province 58 million dollars richer in 2007

Provincial traffic fine revenue has been distributed to the municipalities for 2007 and in the north; residents of the Northcoast are heavy contributors to the pool.

Prince Rupert ranked third in the North after Prince George and Fort St. John, in the revenue collected from traffic infractions. Making for a 264,038 dollar injection of revenue for the city, which according to a chart provided on the Opinion 250 website, was used for the Municipal Integrated Road safety unit as well as Victim services in this community.

Terrace the next closest municipality to Rupert, collected significantly less revenue, providing only 191,645 dollars for that city, money which they used to make traffic crossings safer in two key locations there.

The program was changed in 2004 to forward more of the money collected from traffic offenses back to the communities that the infractions took place in. Since that time the province has returned close to 200 million dollars back into municipal coffers.

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It's at least one tax if you will, that the drivers of the Northcoast for the most part, have control over. One directly based on the decisions that they make while on the roads.