A Baltimore City Council bill that would limit the amount of late fees assessed for unpaid parking tickets will soon take a final step toward passage.
The bill, introduced by Councilman Jack Young in December 2005, will be scheduled for a vote at the next city council meeting on Sept. 18 after sitting in committee for nearly a year.
Councilman Robert Curran, who chairs the Judicial and Legislative Investigations Committee that is hearing the bill, said he supports the measure.
“I will announce a vote on Monday,” Curran said. “I support the bill,” he said.
Young welcomed the move, arguing that the slow action on his legislation is costing residents money.
The bill would cap late fees for unpaid parking tickets to three times the face value of the ticket. Currently city law allows the fines to accumulate at the rate of $16 per month until the ticket is paid. The result, Young said, are burdensome fines.
Curran said the only sticking point was the final penalties cap, either $48 or $96. Councilman Young said he was open to negotiation.
“I just want to get this done so people can have some relief,” he said.
Both the city Police Department and the city Finance Department opposed the bill in their reports to the Curran?s committee. The finance department argued that capping fines would cost the city $2.7 million in revenues. The report also said that a majority of the parking scofflaws are not from the city.
Young said that the lost revenue could be found elsewhere. “I don?t want to lose revenue, but we can come up with a better way to raise money,” he said.
