WASHINGTON – Some cash-strapped U.S. municipalities are resorting to slapping fuel surcharges onto tickets issued to speeding drivers in order to fill dwindling city coffers hit hard by skyrocketing gas prices.
Beginning Jul. 1, the Georgia town of Holly Springs, near the city of Atlanta, will add a surcharge of 12 dollars for each moving violation as a means to avert a budget deficit brought on by high fuel prices, according to http://news.yahoo.com.
According to a spokeswoman of the city administration, which recently received queries from several American municipalities that are considering similar measures, including Florida’s Key West and California’s Los Angeles County, the idea was devised by the city’s police chief to offset the cost of the trend of rising fuel prices.
The 12-dollar charge is expected to pull in around 20,000 dollars for the town of 7,700 people.
