Parking tickets and Atlanta motorists are essentially natural enemies, but that doesn't mean the fines couldn't go up.
The City Council's Transportation Committee voted Wednesday to increase the amount of a parking ticket to $35 from the current rate of $25. If a ticket is not paid in full within 14 days, the fine would jump to $70. And 45 days after a ticket is issued, the fine would rise to $95.
The full council is expected to vote on the proposal Monday, provided some matters such as appeals, multiple tickets and collections are cleared up.
City officials said the increased fine, the only proposed change in the current parking ordinance, would make up for a $4 million shortfall in the city's contract with ParkAtlanta.
“But the key thing, and the only change, is that this adds a $10 additional penalty,” said Duriya Farooqui, the city’s chief operating officer.
Since ParkAtlanta started issuing tickets in Atlanta in November 2009, 150,000 unpaid tickets have run up a balance of $7.4 million. The increased fines would not apply retroactively.
Farooqui said when the city initially hired ParkAtlanta to operate its on-street parking program, the contract called for the city to get $5.5 million a year, with the agency keeping everything above that.
But that was based on 24-hour enforcement, seven days a week. But then the city created zones and eliminated ticketing on Sundays that cut into collections.
An arbitrator ruled last year that with those changes, the company was only obligated to pay the city $1.5 million a year, a 73 percent cut.
Farooqui said the $10 increase would help make up the $4 million in lost revenue. She added that Atlanta residents make up less than one-third of the tickets written by ParkAtlanta.
The proposal drew heavy opposition during a public hearing, with nobody speaking in favor of it.
“We keep putting a bandage on this and it is not right,” said Paul Luna, the owner of Lunacy Black Market restaurant. Luna has been one of the more vocal opponents of ParkAtlanta. “How much money does ParkAtlanta need to make?”
After the meeting, Virginia-Highland resident Mike Boyle described how, about a month ago, ParkAtlanta ticketed eight cars that belonged to guests at a birthday celebration for his wife.
“It is very unsettling to have these kind of interactions, which are usually unfriendly, in our neighborhoods,” Boyle said Wednesday.
Despite its opponents, the proposal passed easily with only Councilwoman Felicia Moore voting against it.
"The public has strong feelings against this," Moore said, adding that she voted to bring ParkAtlanta into the city but now regrets "feeding the monster."
Councilman Kwanza Hall is not a member of the Transportation Committee, but he did testify against the proposal. In the past, he has even suggested that the city work to get out of the ParkAtlanta contract -- which would cost the city about $8 million.
Hall said Wednesday that he wanted the committee to delay voting on the rate increase.
“It should have been held to address all of the concerns that the citizens have. And we should not build our budget on this contract,” said Hall, whose district contains more than half of the city’s meters. “That is the least we could do for our citizens. We need compassionate enforcement, based on the realities of Atlanta. There are too many broken pieces in this partnership."
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