The Mayor of Owen Sound wants to bring back traffic school.
Mayor Ruth Lovell Stanners and other City delegates brought up the idea during a meeting at the Good Roads conference in Toronto yesterday.
Lovell Stanners tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the cost people would pay to go to traffic school to avoid a ticket could help cover the cost of court security.
The idea was presented to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick Bartalucci in meeting with Lovell Stanners, City County Councillor Arlene Wright and City Manager Jim Harrold.
Lovell Stanners also believes they had one of the best traffic schools in all of Ontario — so it also would improve the skills of drivers.
Lovell Stanners says they presented another idea to help cover court security costs — and that was adding a surcharge to traffic tickets — possibly five dollars.
The Owen Sound Mayor says they thanked the Minister for the plan to upload court security costs.
But Lovell Stanners says they also expressed the need for help since the province won’t start to pick up part of the tab until 2012.
Court security in Owen Sound this year will cost almost half a million dollars.
Lovell Stanners says Minister Bartalucci seemed receptive to the ideas and wanted more information.
Lovell Stanners says they listened to the Premier talk about the new Green Energy Act.
She anticipates money will be made available for municipalities to use for green investment and green energy principles.
City officials also met with Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell about social services and more funding for affordable housing.