Speaking of the parking ticket scandal, let?s prevent another one from happening. Neighboring Baltimore County has the answer.
It tracks social services and parking employees with global positioning devices. Those employees “are going into some not-so-pleasant situations sometimes,” said Rob Stradling, director of the county?s information technology department. “It can be rather confrontational.”
Recommended Stories
The devices allow the county to quickly provide assistance to those employees in danger. Who could argue with that benefit? We?re sure ticket officers encounter some irate car owners in the field. The added bonus is that they would also allow managers to track detours and breaks from the job.
Baltimore County plans to give all roving employees GPS devices by the end of next year.
No reason exists for Baltimore City Council members to wait until the investigation of the ticket scandal ends to explore when and how to test the devices. The vast majority of city ticket officers could only benefit from carrying GPS devices. Only those who don?t want to be held accountable for their work could object to them.
To pay for them, why not direct a portion of parking ticket revenue into a technology fund?
When residents and visitors know they can trust city employees, its not a stretch to think more will frequent city neighborhoods to eat and shop. That means more money for the city treasury and more people who will “Get In On It.”
