I was late to work and failed to make a complete stop at the stop sign. The cop nailed me fair and square. The fine was pricey, $236, but not surprising. Politicians have increased traffic fines sharply in recent years. It's government's back door way of raising revenues without raising taxes.
What did surprise me was the fee Sacramento County Courts charged for the "convenience" of paying my fine online - It was a flat $5.95 plus 2.9% of the fine, or in my case, another $6.96 for a total of $12.91. The fee, I was told, goes to the company that processes the on line payments, not the court.
As my husband repeatedly (and annoyingly) reminded me, I could have avoided both the fine and the convenience fee by stopping at the stop sign as required.
Still, I couldn't help wondering. When court officials negotiated with the company that processes online payments, did they pay attention to the convenience fee charges? Did they consider them excessive, as I did? Do they care that minor traffic violators are being gouged - first by their own government, and then by the companies they contract with to process fines?
Ginger Rutland writes for The Sacramento Bee opinion pages.