Parking tickets could soon cost more in Colfax
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Receiving multiple parking tickets in Colfax could soon cost more than the penalty of $15 per ticket.
There are some residents in Colfax who have gotten multiple parking tickets, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, at the Colfax Village Board’s December 13 meeting.
The parking tickets are $15 every time, and the village board should consider increasing the penalty for multiple offenses, said Jody Albricht, village president.
Niggemann included the parking ticket issued by the Colfax Police Department in the village board’s packet of information.
Police officers can issue parking tickets for parking in a crosswalk, parking in a two-hour zone, parking between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., parking in a handicapped parking space, for any kind of “improper parking,” parking by a fire hydrant, parking by official signs and parking on the wrong side of the street during snow removal (odd/even days and street numbers).
The penalty is $15 for all except parking in a handicapped parking space and parking on the wrong side of the street during snow removal, both of which are listed on the ticket as a $25 penalty.
The entire ordinance should be reviewed to see what needs to be changed, Niggemann said.
Section 10-1-50 of the ordinance lists all violations as $15, except for 10-1-27 and 10-1-28 which are not less than $25 or more than $100 for a first offense and not less than $50 or more than $200 for a second offense.
Section 10-1-27 deals with parking from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. between November 1 and May 1, when snowfall exceeds two inches, and parking is only allowed on the south and east side of the streets on even-numbered days and on the north and west side of the streets on odd-numbered days.
Section 10-1-27 also does not allow parking on Main Street from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., and does not allow parking between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on River Street between Pine Street and Cedar Street.
Section 10-1-28 deals with the parking of vehicles over 12,000 pounds or more than 22 feet in length.
Gary Stene, village trustee, said he not was in favor of increasing the fines but that he would support a multiplier for multiple offenses within a certain timeframe.
The biggest concern is the section that deals with being parked for longer than 48 hours and the $15 citation, Niggemann said.
Section 10-1-20 states that vehicles cannot be parked for more than 48 hours in the same location.
Some people are abusing the system, said Jeff Prince, village trustee.
If the vehicle has been in the same location for 48 hours, the owner will back it up a few feet so it is not in the same location or drive it around the block so that the 48-hour period starts over, he said.
The wording of the ordinance could perhaps be changed to deal with abusing the system, Prince said.
Instead of saying parked in the same location, the wording could be changed to being parked on the same street, Stene said.
When it’s only a $15 parking ticket, does anyone care? Albricht asked.
The unpaid parking ticket procedure is to send to collections if they are not paid and there are multiple violations, Niggemann said.
At that point, the police department can also suspend the registration on the vehicle, she said.
Stene suggested referring the parking ordinance to the public safety committee to work on rewording the ordinance so it has an impact on those with multiple violations but does not “take a sledge hammer to the other residents.”
The police department does make exceptions on the 48 hour parking limitation in cases where people have visitors who might be staying for a few days or a week, Niggemann said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion to refer the parking regulations ordinance to the public safety committee.