And they believe that shift is spurred by the city's new justice court that opens Monday.

"We see a direct link between the two," said Sgt. Troy Arrowsmith, president of the Ogden Police Benefits Association. "Our sliding performance scale means we write more citations, which means the justice court brings in more revenues to fund itself and other things in the city."

In mid-June, in a 5-to-1 vote, City Council passed an ordinance requiring police and firefighters to score between a 4 and 5 on their performance evaluations if they want to receive a full 5 percent merit increase.

Citation writing is one of several criteria now factored into pay raises for Ogden's 60 patrol and traffic officers. For top scores in that category, traffic officers each would need to write 100 tickets per month rather than 50, patrol officers five per week rather than three.

"It turns us into revenue generators," Arrowsmith said. "We had a hard time with that quota before, and now they want us to write more."

However, some city administrators don't like the word "quota" - and they don't foresee the city's new justice court flooding coffers with surplus cash.

"It's absolutely false to think that writing a few more tickets will create any more revenue," Police Chief Jon Greiner said.

Instead of "quota," Greiner prefers to use the word "standard." He said ticket writing is just one part of the job.

"They can write more or less than the standard. If they score high in other areas, they can score lower in this area. We want them to be well-rounded," Greiner said.

Will officers camp out at ticket-rich "fishing holes" to fill their quotas, or meet that standard?

"You can call them fishing holes," Greiner said, referring to the northern Utah city's main traffic hot spots. "The area in front of Mount Ogden Park generates tickets all day long."

Data gathered by Ogden staff showed that some cities with justice courts increase their revenue significantly over time.

"I don't look at it as a boon to the general fund," Management Services Director Mark Johnson said. "It could replace some of the dollars we spend on police, which is a sizable amount."

In addition, Johnson agrees with Greiner that it's worthwhile to have officers on the streets, especially in areas like Mount Ogden Park where some drivers like to speed near where youth teams play soccer.

However, Arrowsmith - speaking for the officers who actually do those jobs - said the new requirements take away their discretion.

"In cases where you would normally just issue a warning, now this will force us to give citations," he said.

Amy Wicks, the lone City Council member who voted against the ordinance, said she felt the measure was punitive.

"Rather than having a minimum number of tickets, I'd prefer a minimum number of contacts" - to give officers discretionary room, Wicks said.

"I would hate to see a court system where its sole purpose was to raise revenue for the city," she said.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

Ogden police: Ticket quota boost a worry

Profits from other justice courts

Court expected to run in the red for 1st year

The city's justice court, which will handle class B and C misdemeanors, is expected to pursue collections more effectively than the district court. It also can retain filing fees from small-claims cases. For various citations, it will not have to share 50 percent of fines and bail fees with the state. The court, which opens Monday, is expected to lose $58,814 in its first year, make a profit in its second year and bring in an extra $132,333 by year five.

2004

l West Valley City: $1,877,750

l Sandy: $1,461,030

l Roy: $276,990

l Clearfield: $660,993

2001

l West Valley City: $888,510

l Sandy: $1,087,512

l Roy: $76,655

l Clearfield: $303,797

Source: Ogden city staff