How Shreveport Leaders Want to Spend Your Speeding Ticket Money

SHREVEPORT, LA - Local leaders are talking about making sure we have all the equipment needed to catch criminals.

The Shreveport City Council is proposing creating a new public safety revenue fund. Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark says the money would come from the Blue Line Solutions school zone speeding ticket program.

How Will The Speeding Ticket Money Be Used?

Dark says the ordinance being proposed would put 30% of that revenue into the new Public Safety Fund, 30% to early childhood education, 30% streets and 10% to financial empowerment. Dark says 30% of the money should bring in about a million dollars and that can be used to help buy needed equipment for public safety. He says specific details about how the money will be spent is not included in this proposal because the needs of the department change. One of the proposals council members have discussed is putting more cameras in our community, specifically in the downtown area.

The administration also wants to bring in more hearing officers to take care of the backlog of speeding tickets issued by Blue Line Solutions for speeders in school zones. Many drivers have been appealing those tickets citing issues with the timing and flashing light policies.

This program has been up and going for a year, but it's been quite controversial. Thousands of speeding tickets have been mailed out to motorists across the region. But council members and the administration have gotten hundreds of complaint calls about the program. Representatives from Blue Line Solutions pledged to make improvements to make sure the program is operating properly. They also pledged to open a satellite office in Shreveport.

Blue Line Solutions also ordered flashing lights for all school zones.