Long Seeking An End To Speeding Ticket Issue

Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008

Attorney General Larry Long says he is seeking a negotiated solution to a dispute on how fines are handled for speeding violations on state highways that run though South Dakota cities.

Long says he believes state law requires that drivers caught speeding on state highways within cities should be charged with violations of state law. That would mean fine money goes to school districts in the area.

But the attorney general says city of Colman, and probably some other cities, charged those speeders under city ordinances. That meant the city got 65 percent of the fine money, with the other 35 percent going to the state.

Long says he hopes to get consensus from city and school district officials from across the state on a plan to clarify the law. He says if no agreement is reached, the courts can decide the issue.

Former Colman Police Chief Matthew Schlueter brought up concerns about the ticket practice back in 2007, shortly before Schlueter was terminated by the Colman City Council. The city denied the termination had anything to do with the ticket issue.

Schlueter joined the Lake County Sheriff's Office in January of 2008.