Latest Weather Blog
WBR constable's office may owe nearly $100k after AG declares speeding tickets illegal
Related Story
ADDIS - After issuing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of speeding tickets that Attorney General Liz Murrill says are illegal, the Ward Two Constable's office in Addis may be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars.
The $150 citations came by mail to more than 4,000 drivers from Constable Ron Tetzel's office.
"If you do the math on 4,000 citations at $150 a fine, you're looking at $600,000. You cut it in half, in two weeks they generated $300,000," District 17 Senator Caleb Kleinpeter said.
Based on the tentative agreement between the constable's office and the speed camera company, Emergent, this is how the money from each $150 citation would be divided.
Fifty percent, or $75, would go to the offices of the constable and justice of the peace. Ten percent, or $15, would go to the school system and 40 percent, or $60, to Emergent.
Now, Emergent wants their 40 percent.
"They told the constable and the justice of the peace if they didn't receive their $90,000, then they'd have to file a lawsuit against them," said Kleinpeter, who spoke with the company.
However, after speaking to the attorney general, he's not sure if a judge would find them liable based off what they perceive as an illegal operation.
"You can't sign a contract whenever it breaks the law."
And then there's the issue that even though more than 4,000 tickets were issued, very few have been paid. At the time Tetzel was told to stop issuing tickets, only 30 people had paid them - which means the constable's office only made about $2,200.
Where they will get the remaining $87,750 is unclear.
"We're still trying to figure out if the money went to just the justice of the peace and constable's accounts or if there was a third or fourth account."
Emergent did not respond to calls or emails Wednesday.
News
