Kentucky's plan to ease some of its budget crisis by snatching city revenue from speeding tickets is a case of reckless driving. If enacted, the proposal would take away about $5 million a year from 300 Kentucky cities and 16 counties and switch it to county jails. Thiswould especially hurt small towns, which use money from speeding tickets helps pay for local police forces, salt truck services, road repairs and playgrounds.

Kentucky cities have pleaded with the state Senate to junk the plan or at least phase it in over three to five years so they can find other sources to make up for the lost revenue.

Who can blame cities for objecting, especially because Kentucky has yet to touch its 3-cent-a pack cigarette tax, second lowest in the nation? The national average for state tobacco taxes is 62 cents per pack. Kentucky's budget could get healthy quickly just by bringing its cigarette taxes up to the national average.

State officials are still smarting from criticism over their cost-cutting strategy of releasing "non-violent" inmates. At least four of them re-offended with such crimes as rape, kidnapping and bank robberies. Kentucky corrections officials next looked to speeding ticket revenue as a way to help pay for keeping state inmates behind bars in county jails.

In 1976, Kentucky abolished city police courts in favor of a uniform court system operated by the state. Kentucky officials at the time agreed to compensate local governments for their lost revenue by letting them keep the speeding fines. Now the state wants to take it all. Called "base court revenue," such funds can pay the salary of a cop or two in small towns. The plan would cost Covington $86,000; Newport, $62,000; Florence, $56,000.

Gov. Patton chairs the National Governors Association. Saturday, at NGA's meeting in Washington, Patton called on Congress to come to the rescue by next year or else tapped-out states will be forced to make huge service cuts. Many cities are as broke as the states. Before Kentucky makes a grab for cities' base court funds, it should go for the low-hanging leaves such as tobacco taxes.