In a bid to recoup $4 million that Atlanta expected to reap from on-street parking enforcement, the City Council on Monday approved steeper fines issued by ParkAtlanta.
The council voted 8-4 to raise fines for illegal parking to $35 from the current $25. After 14 days, the fines would jump to $70. And 45 days after the ticket is issued, the fine would hit $95.
Judging by comments from residents on Monday, there will be plenty of unhappy drivers on Atlanta's streets.
The ramped-up fines for drivers who overstay their allotted time at meters or don't pay promptly could affect thousands of tourists, residents and suburban commuters.
The steeper fines sparked debate Monday among City Council members, and several residents blasted ParkAlanta's ticketing tactics. Alex Wan, who represents Virginia-Highland on the City Council, said his district has been especially hard hit by ticketing.
"Our office has certainly felt the impact of this program as it's been rolled out," Wan said. "Until we have a good appeals process, we have no business inflating the fines. My alternative would be to forgo the revenue until we get it right."
Felicia Moore, who represents part of northwest Atlanta, also voted against the changes.
"I'm not interested in feeding the monster, especially without some controls," Moore said. "We have some enforcement issues that we really need to fix before we start raising the fines."
Atlanta is trying to secure the $5.5 million annually that it planned to receive when it outsourced some of its parking enforcement to ParkAtlanta in 2009. But when city officials limited ParkAtlanta's enforcement in response to residents' complaints, that money was put in jeopardy.
An arbitrator ruled last year that the city was entitled to only $1.5 million per year. City officials said the higher fines would plug the $4 million gap.
But several residents said they felt mistreated by Atlanta's parking enforcement.
Audraine Jackson of west Atlanta said she got a ticket for parking in a two-hour zone that ParkAtlanta wrongly said was a tow zone.
"It took me six months to resolve the issue," Jackson said. "Give me my city back so I can drive around, look for a parking space, and not have to give you $25 or $35 for the privilege."
Jeffery Benoit of Rex told the City Council that he got a ticket seven minutes after paying for time. The ParkAtlanta employee sped off before he could make his case, he said.
"I don't have time for this -- time is money," Benoit said. "If they're going to write me a ticket that is for $50, I want to charge them $100. Let's change the contract and put sanctions on them for writing illegal tickets on citizens of Atlanta. These people are misusing this contract."
ParkAtlanta, a unit of Duncan Solutions of Milwaukee, has declined to comment on proposed legislation that would raise fines or change enforcement hours.
Duriya Farooqui, the city's chief operating officer, said Friday that "world-class cities need effective parking management."
"Our current program strikes a balance between the competing demands of motorists, residents, visitors and businesses for on-street parking," she said.
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