Not cool, no.
Creative tax? I agree.
Written into the municipal code and a violation...yes. Most fines are of the level to avoid litigation concerns.
The citation was for $25: Failure to yield when entering traffic. I paid that because the value was less than the value of my time showing up for court to argue that there was no on-coming traffic.
BTW, that was 1976.
Yes many/most are set up so you just have to pay it, not worth contesting. But remember, courts are made up of judges, who are just lawyers in robes. Legislative bodies are made up of lawyers, elected lawyers. So lawyers make laws that are advantageous to lawyers. Lawyers write code so complicated you cannot defend yourself without the use of... Wait for it... Another lawyer.
Law Schools keep pumping out lawyers, and the public keeps electing them! It’s hard for me not to be a Mark Twain cynic, but he had it right about the world.
Lordsburg man probably dissed the cops. Had he treated officers with respect, probably would not have happened