Astate Supreme Court decision handed down last week could make traffic tickets easier on the pocket books of offenders, but its effect on city coffers has not been established yet.

The high court ruling said the city of Fargo, and other cities, may not charge traffic fines that exceed the penalties in state law. The decision has forced cities with home-rule charters to change their fine levels to the often-lower state penalties.

Bismarck and Mandan both charged more for some offenses than called for in state law until the past week when the decision was handed down.

For instance, the fine in the North Dakota Century Code for running a red light is $20. Bismarck's previous red light fine was $50. In 2007, Bismarck police nabbed 565 people for running red lights. Assuming each of those people paid the $50 fine, red light violations alone put $28,250 in the city's general fund. Had the fine cost those people $20, the general fund would have made $11,300 instead, a difference of $16,950.

Mandan's previous red light fine was $30. In 2006, police issued 135 such tickets, for a total of $4,050 if everyone paid their fines. Charged at the state level, those fines would have amounted to $1,350 less money.

Sheila Hillman, Bismarck finance director, said the city has no projections yet to estimate what the Supreme Court decision could cost the city. The city's 2008 budget projects that $540,000 will be brought in from traffic fines. It's difficult to determine what the difference could be at the lower fine levels, though the amount likely will be less than the projections, she said.

"There's no way for sure for us to know," Hillman said. "We think there will be an impact."

Money collected from traffic funds is deposited into the city's general fund, for which there are numerous revenue sources. The city does not rely on traffic fines alone to operate any department or program, she said.

"We have a number of different revenue sources, and this is just one of them," she said.

Hillman said she doesn't anticipate any immediate cutbacks in city programs or departments.

"Could it cause some decisions later on? Maybe," she said.

Hillman said the city will have to wait and see what happens with the lower fines. With the growing population, it's possible that more people could be hit with traffic fines than in past years, possibly raising the level of money collected, she said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)