Through a Right To Know request dated 8/24/12 asking for "List of vehicle registration plate numbers, vehicle make model and color, with unpaid parking tickets from January 1997 through December 2011. Please include the number of outstanding tickets per vehicle and the amount of the original fine." I am uploading the 1,717 page document and it is available here.
I had been denied the list of names of scofflaws, but license plate numbers are public information. I just didn't ask for the right information.
Before anyone even thinks about raising taxes, a serious effort should be made to collect these past due accounts.
ReplyDeleteYou can start by leaving phone messages.
The City of Pittsburgh solves the problem rather easily. They have a boot crew that drives around and boots the vehicles. To get the boot off, you have to pay an additional fine.
ReplyDeleteI know the Mt Lebanon police have the technology for license plate recognition http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-east/license-plate-readers-keep-eye-on-scofflaws-criminals-336200/ Maybe it's time to pass an ordinance that if you have an outstanding parking ticket, your car can be impounded. Towing operators operate on a fee they charge the towed vehicle's owner which gives them a strong motivation to find vehicles and tow them. People tend to pay their fines when their car is impounded. This could be a rather low-cost solution to an expensive problem.
Wonder if anyone was surprised to find their own vehicle in the list, but paid the ticket years ago!
ReplyDeleteAfter all - you could slip a few dollars in the ticket envelope and put it in the drop box in the lot as soon as you got the ticket. Who'd be the wiser if those cash payments just disappeared?
"Fine payment! What fine payment? We didn't get no stinkin' fine payment from you!"
Looks like the culprit with 159 tickets hails from SC and drives a Geo. Lic. plate #713PCW
ReplyDeleteOn page 1630, the Geo has six more tickets listed with PA plate
ReplyDelete713PCW. Could it be that this person actually has 165 tickets or more if the state wasn't recorded properly?
Elaine
Just playing sleuth. Who would be driving a cimpact car manufactured between 1989 and 2002, that is registered in SC, but makes regular visits to or just moved to the area?
ReplyDeleteIt's odd that the exact number appears on a SC and a PA plate and has run up delinquent parking fines... in MTL.
As I moved from state to state and registered my vehicles, the new states plates were never the same number as the previous states.
Go for the boot!
ReplyDelete1:29 PM. The parking authority had the legal authority to boot and tow but did not utilize those powers for a number of years. That was just one of a multitude of reasons the Commission finally, after years of public "head's up", fired the authority board and dissolved the authority.
ReplyDelete1:43 PM the cash in the envelope example happened to a commissioner recently. no explanation given. has it also happened to any of you bloggers ?
ReplyDeleteI have paid by dropping cash in the envelope and depositing in the fine box. Did it get logged I don't know.
ReplyDeleteIf the municipality isn't going to waste the time we pay parking employees to check and then send a delinquent notice, I'm not going to waste my time either.
I will never ever pay in cash again. A check gives you some proof of payment if there is ever a dispute.
I personally see my license plate on there. But I haven't had a bill from anyone. I paid it.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Municipal website to pay the ticket(which you can do online) and when I entered in the license plate and ticket number posted in Elaine's RTK, I got an error. It doesn't exist.
I don't know if this is because of a bad file given to Elaine or poor record keeping by the Muni.
I guess I could triple check by walking down to the muni building.
Well, that's not good news, 3:45 PM. I guess we need to go through the 1717 pages and look for our plates? There have been a lot of drivers in my family from 1997. No kids, I'm not blaming you. Yet.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Once again, we have municipal employees or parking authorities that were paid or are being paid to monitor parking fines. If unpaid after 30 days the vehicles owner is suppose to receive notices of the unpaid ticket.
ReplyDeleteI'm not doing the muni's leg work to find out if I'm on the books owing them money. If they think I do, tell me and we'll battle it out from there.
Here's how to pay a parking ticket online.
ReplyDeletehttps://leboparking.mtlebanon.org/
You type in the license plate number with no hyphens or spaces
example CDT8480
then you type in the ticket number without the prefix
example 10341313
then you select the state
example Pennsylvania
See the amount is only $4!
The scofflaw list shows $20.
That's exactly what I did...and nothing came up even though my license plate is on there.
ReplyDeleteNow I have to figure out if that is good or bad???
Did anyone try it for the scofflaw plate?
ReplyDelete