GOVERNMENT WATCH : Mystery Tickets

Los Angeles City Controller Rick Tuttle has raised some very disturbing questions about the city’s traffic ticket system. Controls over the handling of tickets are so lax that up to $4 million a year may be unaccounted for. That’s way too much money to be unsure about. Other city officials should heed Tuttle’s warnings that this bears investigation immediately.

The controller’s office recently completed an audit of 80 Los Angeles Police Department traffic citations picked at random from the approximately 1.2 million issued by the department in 1990-92. Of the 80 tickets, eight, or 10%, did not show up in the Municipal Court accounting system. Since tickets average about $100 apiece and about 400,000 are issued annually, a 10% loss across the board would amount to $4 million in missing tickets. That’s a lot of money.

Tuttle is concerned that weaknesses in the accountability system could lead to the loss or misappropriation of public monies. He has called attention to the potential problem by sending letters to the Municipal Court, the City Council and the Board of Supervisors; the LAPD should also take a look at its procedures to make certain it has adequate controls to ensure that traffic tickets are properly handled on its end.

While ticket fixing has not been known to be a problem in Los Angeles, weaknesses in the accountability system could create an atmosphere that is conducive to corruption. Tuttle is asking that city officials take this issue seriously. That’s a very good idea: The city needs all the revenue it can muster.