SRB Police to Begin Accepting Tips

by I. B. Lyon

Tipping has gotten out of control these days. You’re supposed to tip your hair stylist, barista, bartender, hotel valet, Uber driver, Doordash driver, baseball/softball instructor, dog walker, and more. Every restaurant in America now strongly encourages diners to tip. Many restaurants ask for tips before you receive service, and many restaurants that provide little to no service ask for tips as well. It has just gotten to be annoying and a little too much.

The Strong River Bend Police Dept. (SRBPD) has been thinking of ways to bring in additional revenue. The department has struggled for years with limited resources, and they are having issues keeping good officers. Strong River Bend (SRB) councilman, Tip O’Beal, recently suggested the police department should start accepting tips at a town board meeting. O’Beal said, “Just about all restaurants and many other places ask for tips these days, and it’s kind of gotten to be an expected thing you know. Why couldn’t our police officers ask for tips after traffic stops? It could bring in more revenue for the town, and it’ll help us attract more quality officers.”

The board meeting ran longer than normal because the town council members, the mayor, and the town attorney had to work out the details of the tipping program. City attorney, Parry Maison, said, “I have never heard of this before, so I wasn’t sure if it was legal. So, I left the room and did a quick Google search, and I found nothing that prohibited it. I just told the council and mayor to instruct their police officers to not coerce citizens to tip under any circumstances. Also, they should give 3 preset options like 15%, 18%, and 20%, and they’d need to give a custom option in case citizens wanted to tip a different amount or nothing at all. Plus, the amount of the fine or fee would have to be disclosed to the citizens when they are stopped.”

The council voted 5-0 in favor of the town keeping 75% of the tips, and 25% will be given the officer that received the tip. SRB police chief, Barney Kojak, is excited about the tipping program. Kojak said, “I’m pumped about this. This will help us attract new quality officers. It will also help us bring in more revenue to the town. The town will receive 75% of all tips, and our officers will definitely make more traffic stops to increase their likelihood of getting tips. Additionally, it will allow us to collect fines and fees when our officers give the citations. We won’t have to wait weeks to collect fines and fees. People will be able to pay their fines and fees during their traffic stop by check, credit card, Apple Pay, Android Pay, Venmo, CashApp, and Paypal. So, I think this will be a win-win for everyone.”

One important caveat to the tipping program is that a citation has to be given in order to get a tip. So, if a driver receives a warning, the officer can’t receive a tip. This will all be built into the department’s computer software called TipBlue. Also, cash cannot be accepted by officers as tips. SRB and Valley residents are torn about the new tipping program.

One Valley resident said, “Well, I guess I won’t be able to get my tickets fixed anymore. The officers gotta get you on something in order to get a tip, and they ain’t gonna want that tip taken away after the fact. I guess I’ll have to slow down and stop at the stop signs now. And, they’re gonna be pulling people over like crazy to get tips; I may have to avoid SRB now. Plus, we have to tip everybody these days, and now we’re supposed to tip cops? Come on man! I’m not happy with Ole Kojak about this.”

A SRB resident said, “I like this idea. Our officers don’t get paid much, and this will allow them to make more money. They work hard, and I think they should be able to get tips. It’s a good thing.”

This program will begin on Monday. It will interesting to see in the coming months how much revenue this generates for SRB. If the program does well, I expect more towns to follow suit. The SRVO will keep you updated on the tipping program.