CHICAGO — Voters in Ferguson, Mo. elected two African Americans to their city council Tuesday, the first election following a police shooting that sparked protests in the city and around the country and inspired efforts to cut Missouri local governments' reliance on court fines to support budgets.
The city's population is 67% African American and previously just one of six city council seats was held by an African American. Several candidates supported by protestors, however, did not win their election bids.
The election is the first since the August shooting to death of Michael Brown, who is black and was unarmed, by police officer Darren Wilson, who is white. Wilson did not face any charges but resigned.
A recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division found the Ferguson police department engaged in unlawful and discriminatory practices partially driven by the city's reliance on court fine revenue to support its budget.
Questions over aggressive policing tactics and the heavy reliance on court fines to prop up local government budgets followed the shooting and the protests it inspired.
Critics say stiff court fines imposed by local governments like Ferguson's result in aggressive policing tactics that disproportionally target low-income residents. Along with taxes and other revenue streams in 2010, the city pulled in over $1.3 million in fines and fees collected by its court.
For fiscal year 2015, Ferguson's city budget anticipates fine revenues to exceed $3 million - more than double the total from just five years earlier, according to the report. The increase was not tied to crime figures.
The city has taken action with an ordinance limiting the use of revenue generated by court fines and fees to 15% of its budget. The city has also revised various policies on collections.
State lawmakers are advancing legislation that would tighten limits how much local governments can rely on court-related fines. Current state rules referred to as Mack's Creek Law cap traffic ticket income at 30% of a municipality's general operating revenue.
Pending legislation would lower the threshold for smaller cities, towns, or villages to 20% with larger cities facing a more stringent cut to 10%. The changes would be imposed statewide but some court systems in smaller counties would be exempt.
The Missouri State Auditor's office previously announced plans to audit 10 municipal court systems, including Ferguson's. The audits are reviewing the systems for compliance with accounting practices, racial and gender statistics on warrants, and adherence to current revenue limits.
Advocacy groups have filed a series of lawsuits challenging municipal ticketing operations.
Moody's Investors Service recently shifted its outlook on Ferguson's Aa3 general obligation rating to negative over its use of reserves to paper over budget deficits. The city's credit standing has so far weathered the civil unrest that followed the shooting largely due to its flush reserves.
