INCREASE IN TICKETS ANGERS TOWN'S DRIVERS

South Congaree Police Say Goal Is to Clean Up Crime Problems

Eating out in South Congaree can be expensive.

For many motorists in the Lexington County town, meals at Subway, Taco
Bell and other area eateries have come with unwanted side items:
traffic tickets costing hundreds of dollars.

Irate residents say it's tough to drive anywhere in the town's 3.25
square miles without seeing the flashing lights of the South Congaree
Police Department's silver and black patrol cars. People traveling to
restaurants - or to grocery stores, work and school - often are cited
for illegal window tinting, improper license tags and failure to use a
turn signal.

"People say in South Congaree it's always Christmas 'cause lights are
always flashing," said Dennis Winkler, a town resident whose
daughter's car was searched after she was pulled over because her tag
light wasn't working.

Records show the town has dramatically increased its law enforcement
efforts.

For example:

The amount of money raised through municipal court fines more than
tripled in one year, exceeding $400,000 during the 2002 fiscal year.

South Congaree, population 2,266, collected more money in fines than
some towns at least 12 times its size.

More than 800 tickets were issued from October to December 2002, more
than half to people under 30.

Town officials deny police are overzealous, saying their intention is
to clean up the town. They say routine traffic stops often lead to
drugs and other major crimes.

"The real story," said South Congaree Police Chief Jason Amodio, "is
the courage and effort given by a small police department fighting
against drugs in this community in an attempt to make this community
safer for our residents."

Those affected by the department's tactics don't see the officers'
motives as quite so noble. A crowd of 200 people showed up at a Town
Council meeting in January, and many complained police were harassing
motorists and driving business away.

After the January meeting, Amodio said, he instructed officers to
issue more warning tickets and fewer citations. That has led to a 20
percent drop in revenue since the first of the year.

Still, in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, only 18
S.C. cities collected more than South Congaree, none with fewer than
10,000 people, according to calculations based on state treasurer's
office records. That agency collects state assessments on fines levied
by local law enforcement.

South Congaree, population 2,266, surpassed collections by
Summerville, population 27,752, and Sumter, a city of 39,643.

Nearby Lexington, with more than four times as many people, collected
roughly $47,000 less than South Congaree during the same nine months.

Amodio said those figures don't tell the whole story. He said some
cities, including Lexington, collected less because they enforce the
law and pursue collections less aggressively.

"Maybe the reason that we're getting people out of Swansea, Gaston,
Pelion and other parts of the county with no driver's license, no
insurance or drugs in the car is because maybe their law enforcement
agencies aren't doing their share," he said.

The amount South Congaree collected last year is more than three times
its take in each of the previous two years. It works out to roughly
$190 for every person who lives in the town.

Roughly half the amount collected went to the state. The rest stayed
with the town.

Municipalities all over South Carolina are under intense budget
pressure because of the lagging economy and various tax cuts passed by
the General Assembly, said Howard Duvall, executive director of the
Municipal Association of South Carolina.

He said towns with little or no property tax revenue - and South
Congaree residents pay none directly to the town - sometimes are
tempted to raise money by writing more tickets.

The threshold for abuse, Duvall said, is whether money from tickets
exceeds the police budget.

South Congaree falls below that threshold, in part because its police
department has grown a lot in recent years. In 1996, the police
department had three officers and a budget of $88,284. Last week,
council members passed a preliminary 2004 budget that allotted
$326,000 for the department of six full-time and two part-time
volunteer officers.

Town officials insist they aren't running a speed trap. They say much
of the money has been generated by arrests for drugs and other serious
crimes.

The town's decision to step up enforcement came after a special
mayoral election in January 2001. The town's former mayor, Stokely
Cox, pleaded guilty to misconduct in office, and Johnny White, a
longtime resident and councilman, ran for his seat.

During his campaign, White said residents told him they wanted 24-hour
police protection. Having been burglarized twice at his home, White
could understand their concerns. He campaigned on a platform of
stronger enforcement.

White says the town cannot grow unless businesses believe the area is
safe for customers.

"And that's what I want," he said. "I want somebody going to
Winn-Dixie .. I want them to feel safe and secure when they get out of
their automobile. I believe we have that atmosphere in there now."