BRISTOL — At the request of Bristol Police Chief Kevin Gibbs, the Bristol selectboard has changed the way traffic citation revenue is distributed between the town and police department.
Since the Bristol Police District is only about one square mile, about the size of the former Bristol village, the town of Bristol contracts with the department to patrol town roads outside the district. According to the department’s November activity log, officers conducted five patrols near Route 116, Monkton Road and other areas.
Under the current revenue-sharing method, the town gets the first $10,000 in revenue from ticket fines during the fiscal year, the next $4,000 goes to the department, and any amount above $14,000 goes to the municipality. At Monday evening’s selectboard meeting, Gibbs asked the selectboard to change the policy so that any revenue in excess of $14,000 is divided evenly between the town and the department.
Gibbs explained that the department incurs additional expenses when officers appear in traffic court to participate in proceedings. Officers are usually paid overtime for that, Gibbs said, and the department should be reimbursed for it.
“If there’s an expense on behalf of the police department to send an officer to court, it seems like the revenue from that ticket should go to the district,” Gibbs said.
The selectboard agreed to make the change.