New York, NY – New York City expects to collect $575 million in 2011 from parking ticket fines. You don’t like it, you can fight. You can come here to a parking violations office and see a judge, or you can “settle” and get discount.
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Fox 5 News showed how, within a few minutes, a man with a $65 ticket paid only $43 through the settlement program.
But the days of getting breaks are numbered. Sources tell Fox 5 News that the settlement program is about to end.
Parking violation judges say that their bosses, senior judges, told them that the discount program will be eliminated sometime in mid-April. And they also say they were warned not to tell the public.
A spokesman for the Department of Finance told Fox 5 News that no decisions have been made about ending the program. But evidence seems to indicate otherwise.
Sources say 30 new per diem judges have already been hired. A job vacancy notice for another 30 is online.
The city faces a 2 Billion budget deficit so getting the full value out parking fines makes sense to NYU Stern School of Business Professor Robert Salomon.
“It’s a smart thing for the city to do because it’s an easy way for the city to capture that revenue. That’s revenue the city should be receiving,” says NYU business professor Robert Salomon.
Parking Ticket Discount Program May Be Axed: MyFoxNY.com
Not all city officials feel that way. City Council budget committee chair Domenic Recchi (D-Brooklyn) opposes the idea.
“Times are tough. The budget is tough but don’t raise revenue off the backs of the city of New York. This is another tax,” Councilman Recchia says.
At a budget hearing, Recchia got Finance Commissioner David Frankel to admit the discount may go, and additional staff is being hired.
“We are in the process of training more judges to help deal with the potential influx of challenges to our tickets,” Frankel said.
Recchia is urging him to reconsider.
Unless the councilman and others can convince the finance commissioner and the mayor to change their minds, it looks like the discounts will soon a thing of the past.
We need more Jimmy Justices on the streets to drive away these thieves
not on the streets, but on roofs where they cant claim harrasmant
I hope the day soon comes when Bloomberg and his traffic commisar are axed.
I never understood and still don’t understand the “discount” or “settling” a fine. If the ticket says Eg: $120, that person should pay $120. Yes we can advocate that the fine for that violation should be $60 but why do they give discounts? How can that be justice? They can give a fine of $60 and then INCREASE it to $120 if Eg: you don’t pay/contest within 2 weeks.
In my eyes, it looks like a warped system to give discounts to fines.