Police Chief Lee Shelbourn said Monday he was told to double the number of citations and set up more roadblocks to help ease Petal's budget crisis.

But Mayor Carl Scott and the Board of Aldermen deny giving such instructions.

Shelbourn would not disclose who gave him the instructions. He said his department did as it was told but isn't planning to do it anymore.

"The Police Department is not supposed to be a money-making organization," he said. "Our purpose is to provide public safety to the citizens of Petal ... to where they can feel safe at night."

The denials from the city administration came swiftly after Shelbourn's comments were posted Monday at www.hattiesburgamerican.com.

"Nobody can tell the chief what to do by state law," said Mayor Carl Scott. "Anybody can have discussions with him, but you can't tell him what to do."

The reality of traffic tickets being used to pad local government budgets isn't surprising, but it is surprising and refreshing to see a local dispute of this sort detailed in the news.