Coming soon to a rear-view mirror near you -- the chance to pay for police fuel, and I’m not talking about buying ‘em a bag of donuts, either…

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I was making my law enforcement rounds the other day.

Saw an officer of the law sitting in an office.

I joked to him: “How come you’re not out patrolling?”

He joked in response: “I’m busy saving the city money by not burning gasoline.”

We shared a few more laughs, then I went on about my rat-killing.

The exchange set me to thinking: Fuel costs must eat a big hole in the city budget, and the county’s as well.

Other than writing more tickets to pay for the increased costs of gasoline – thereby gaining the reputation of a speed trap, which would scare off the tourist dollars this area so desperately wants -- what’s the answer?

Well, here’s a suggestion that can raise money without raising property taxes.

Wonder how?

The envelope, please. (drum roll here.)

How about a fuel surcharge on your next speeding ticket?

Don’t laugh.

Holly Springs, Ga., population 7,700, is doing exactly that.

Drivers caught speeding in the north Atlanta suburb now have to pay an extra $12, to cover fuel costs for the police officers who stop them.

The fee increase actually applies to all moving violations, not just speeding tickets. The surcharge can be rescinded when gas prices fall below $3 per gallon.

Here’s a question for our budgetmakers – the elected and appointed officials in charge of making our tax dollars go as far as possible. Why not consider a fuel surcharge? The airlines do. Lots of pizza delivery places do.

People complain about those “ad-on” taxes, but they have little choice but to pay it, unless they want to walk and go hungry.

A lot of the Ripley, Blue Mountain and Walnut municipal court records that appear in this newspaper relate to speeding.

If the county or state would care to consider adding a fuel surcharge, read no further than city or county municipal court records to find out how much potential the fuel surcharge idea has.

Insurance companies already practice a version of the fuel surcharge tax. When you get a speeding ticket, you’re basically voluntarily taxing yourself to pay the higher costs of your premium.

Municipal officials may also to consider a sliding surcharge: the faster, the higher. The insurance companies, basically, already do the same thing. The higher the speed listed on your ticket, the more your premium rises.

Read the municipal court records closely to see how well a sliding surcharge could apply. Check and see how high some of the speeds listed in court records are. Those longer, straighter stretches of county, state and federal roads apparently give speeders more chance to attain higher speeds.

A fuel surcharge added to tickets would be a democratic tax – one people voluntarily place on themselves when they break the law.

It’s a self-taxing system. If you don’t break the law you don’t pay the tax.

Don’t do the crime if you can’t pay the fine.