Where do toll road fees go - Essay Example

Where do toll road fees go? In the article “Where do toll road fees go?” written by Wayne Dolcefino, the abhorrent practice of misusing toll road fines is looked at in-depth. It does not matter if the money came from some indiscretions from members of the public, the money received from toll road fines should be considered as public funds. The Harris County Attorney, Mike Stafford, has a vested interest in deciding what to do with the money because he receives a small part of every fine. This gives him an incentive to try and fine people because he will directly benefit.

Although state law states that it is up to the county attorney to decide what to do with the funds collected, it is only common sense to suggest that the funds are put back into the local county transportation system. Stafford suggested that the law does not provide any provisions for having to use it all on the toll road. Yes, that is correct, but the fact remains that not a single cent is put back into the toll road. Where the money actually goes is to provide parties for county events and also to pay employees of the local county.

I believe that there should be more accountability on the part of the county attorney. What he is currently doing is almost stealing because he is using taxpayer dollars to fund something that the taxpayers have not been consulted about. Not all of the toll road fines fund needs to be put back into the toll road, but a significant portion of it needs to be used so there is balance.