Selma refunds $100,000 in tickets its police weren’t authorized to write

The city of Selma, long known for tough traffic enforcement, has stopped its police from ticketing trucks for being overweight — and has refunded nearly $100,000 in fines.

“We were not allowed to do what we were doing, so we gave them all their money back,” said City Administrator Ken Roberts, satung he signed 125 refund checks that were mailed in late October.

Two Selma officers had obtained certification last year through the Texas Department of Public Safety to cite overweight commercial vehicles using portable scales. But in August, city officials concluded the town in northeast Bexar County is too small for its officers to enforce that provision of the state transportation code.

“It was a mistake and it was corrected,” said Municipal Judge John Hrncir, adding, “I really think Selma police have a bad rap from years ago and they're doing a good job these days.”

Area truckers cheered the move. Some operators said Selma’s decades-old reputation as a speed trap was well-deserved.

“You’d better slow down here,” said Pearl Sanchez, manager of Bob White Express, a Selma trucking firm, said she had complained because several suppliers stopped delivering goods after their drivers were cited by local officers.

“They could’ve put us out of business because we couldn’t receive deliveries,” Sanchez said.

Read more in Thursday’s Express-News or at ExpressNews.com.

zeke@express-news.net