Florida City Turns To Fascism To Ensure Parking Tickets Are Paid

[Hardrock69]

Florida: City to Seize Homes Over a $5 Parking Ticket
Brooksville, Florida proposes to foreclose homes and seize cars over less than $20 in parking tickets.



Brooksville, FloridaThe city council in Brooksville, Florida voted this week to advance a proposal granting city officials the authority to place liens and foreclose on the homes of motorists accused of failing to pay a single $5 parking ticket.


Non-homeowners face having their vehicles seized if accused of not paying three parking offenses.

According to the proposed ordinance, a vehicle owner must pay a parking fine within 72 hours if a meter maid claims his automobile was improperly parked, incurring tickets worth between $5 and $250. Failure to pay this amount results in the assessment of a fifty-percent "late fee." After seven days, the city will place a lien on the car owner's home for the amount of the ticket plus late fees, attorney fees and an extra $15 fine. The fees quickly turn a $5 ticket into a debt worth several hundred dollars, growing at a one-percent per month interest rate. The ordinance does not require the city to provide notice to the homeowner at any point so that after ninety days elapse, the city will foreclose. If the motorist does not own a home, it will seize his vehicle after the failure to pay three parking tickets.

Any motorist who believes a parking ticket may have been improperly issued must first pay a $250 "appeal fee" within seven days to have the case heard by a contract employee of the city. This employee will determine whether the city should keep the appeal fee, plus the cost of the ticket and late fees, or find the motorist not guilty. Council members postponed a decision on whether to reduce this appeal fee until final adoption of the measure which is expected in the first week of April.

The full text of the ordinance is available in a 605k PDF file at the source link below.


ORDNANCE OF THE BROOKSVILLE FASCIST REGIME

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/16/1664.asp

[FORD]

Geezus..... I thought Florida would have been at least a little LESS fascist after Jeb left the governor's mansion.

[sadaist]

The two solutions are simple.

1) Don't park illegally

2) Pay your parking tickets

[Hardrock69]

3) Subscribe To Mein Kampf Quarterly

4) Join The American Nazi Party

5) Attend all meetings

6) Always Salute The City Council Of Brooksville, Florida in the correct way:

[Guitar Shark]

Oh please. I agree with sadaist.

[Hardrock69]

"Oh Please?"

Begging for Nazi cock?

Sorry...can't help you there...

[FORD]

Don't get a parking ticket in Olympia, counselor!

They have some privatized company posing as "the city" issuing the tickets, the clocks on the meters are all fucked up, and you can't even pay the ticket at city hall, but at the office of this private company.

And I've heard that if you refuse to pay the tickets, even if they are in the wrong, that this private company has somehow managed to get the Dept. of Licensing to hold these fees against your registration renewal.

Now, a speeding ticket or some more serious infraction, I could understand having an impact on someone's drivers license. But a parking ticket?? Let alone one not even issued by a REAL municipal government agency??

During session, it's even worse.... these fuckers troll the streets all the way through the neighborhood, all the way up Capitol Way. They tried to give me a ticket once for parking in front of my own fucking house!!. I looked the little weasel in the eye, and said, FUCK YOU, I LIVE HERE!! as I tore up the ticket and threw it back in his little ice cream truck wannabe vehicle. What's he gonna do about it?

Call my fucking plates in and see that I'm telling the truth?

Stand up to these fascists. If you don't, they'll keep on walking all over you.

[knuckleboner]

you know what sucks? when a municipality decides not to enforce its sanctions against violators and instead lets expected revenue go uncollected.

[Hardrock69]

Heh...that is probably why Brooksville is trying to create a draconian ordnance like that...they have a buncha shiftless lazy motherfuckers working as meter maids...

[FORD]

Originally posted by knuckleboner
you know what sucks? when a municipality decides not to enforce its sanctions against violators and instead lets expected revenue go uncollected.

There's nothing wrong with a legitimate municipality collecting a reasonable fee from an actual violator. I don't think that's being debated here, but rather draconian measures, unreasonable actions, and privatization of government functions, leading to even more sleazy business practices for which no one can be held accountable.

For example, if I park for 4 hours but only pay for 2 hours at the meter, give me a ticket, and I'll pay it without question.

However, if I parked for only 1 hour and 45 minutes, paid for 2 hours, and STILL get ticketed, then something is wrong.

If I can't resolve this issue with city hall, because nobody ACTUALLY employed by the city of Olympia had anything to do with issuing the ticket, then something is wrong.

If they decide to triple the fees, send it to collection, block me from renewing my drivers license or SEIZE MY FUCKING HOUSE (as they apparently are in Florida, butnot here.....YET.) but will not be held accountable for THEIR mistakes, then something is VERY wrong.


What is a bigger problem, the city not collecting a $10 ticket, or someone losing their goddamn house, or ability to drive to work over a stupid error?

[knuckleboner]

dude, i totally agree with you on the violations having to be legitimate. i also agree that you have to have a place/authority/agency, etc. to be able to appeal to.

i have no problem with the municipality contracting with private firms to run the program, so long as there's a governmental entity that oversees it.

but as for the bigger problem, city not collecting the ticket or somebody losing their house? the problem is not collecting the ticket.

NOBODY'S losing their house over that. it's a scare tactic. you'll get a bunch of notices telling you to pay or else. eventually, you'll get the notice that says if you don't pay, they're putting a lien on your house. if your ticket is $10, odds are they're not going to foreclose. they'll leave the lien on your house for $10. but you don't want that lien, so you pay. problem solved.

now, if you have $15,000 in accrued, unpaid tickets? different story. again, i'm sure they'll be happy to work out a payment option with you, but they at least have the stick to bring you to the table.



now, my support for the house liens is based on the principle. if, in practice, the government does not have good controls over how the tickets are given out and does not have a fair system in allowing disputes, and does not have comprehensive attempts to find and work with the homeowner before the lien comes down, then i would oppose that program.

but in theory, i like it.

[Hardrock69]

I would say if it is a legitimate ticket, you would have to be a Mongoloid retard to lose your house because you would not cough up five fucking dollars....