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In an effort to raise revenue to pay for more police officers, the Nassau County Executive has proposed a steep increase in the fees drivers are charged for receiving tickets for traffic violations. According to ABC 7, the fee increase would be $105 per ticket. That represents a flat fee increase for every kind of ticket, regardless of the ticket’s current cost.

This means that some fines would be more than double what they are now. For instance, if the increase is successful, a ticket for a red light camera infraction will be $200. This is substantially more than the current fee of $95.

The Island Now reports that some legislators are opposed to the increase and have proposed to cap the amount of future fee increases at the lower of the rate of inflation or 2 percent. They are also proposing to limit how often fee increases can occur. The 2 percent fee cap already applies to property taxes. The proposed budget that includes the fee increase keeps the tax rates in the county flat and instead relies on the fee increases to raise revenue.

Representatives of the county say that the fee increases will make only traffic violators pay for the cost of hiring additional police officers, as opposed to a tax increase which would affect Nassau County residents across the board. Increases are also being proposed for certain business licenses, alarm system permits and park use permits. An agreement will likely be reached soon as the county budget is required to be approved by October 31.