City's parking ticket amnesty program starts Jan. 20
Starting Tuesday, most anyone with a parking ticket that has late fees can have them waived under the City's parking ticket amnesty program that will run through the end of February.
The City Clerk's office will offer a parking ticket amnesty program Jan. 20 to Feb. 28. Most parking tickets, including those 10 years old, can be paid for the original fine with any late fees waived.
“I hope people are waiting for our office to open Tuesday morning, ready to get rid of late parking tickets at face value or ready to call in and get this taken care of,” said City Clerk Sandy Kennedy. “This is an opportunity to make a fresh start for 2009, so if you've found an old ticket in your pants pocket or have a fistful in your glove compartment, make your way to my office before it's too late. We're ready to help you out.”
To waive the late fee, tickets must be paid in person in the Clerk's office on the first floor of the City-County Building, by credit card over the phone at 427-1208 or by mail using a money order or credit card with a postmark between Jan. 20 and Feb. 28. Tickets can be paid with cash, credit card or money orders in person. Personal checks will not be accepted for the amnesty program.
The late fees cannot be waived if people use the Web site to pay a late ticket, but people can call the Clerk's office and pay over the phone using a credit card.
City Council approved an extended ticket amnesty program at its meeting Tuesday.
“Thank you to City Council for their support of what I expect could be a popular program,” Kennedy said. “City Council and Mayor Henry have shown that they want to work for the benefit of both violators and City finances by creating a program that will create an unexpected revenue stream.”
The Clerk's office is prepared to take old tickets dating back as far as 1999.
Fines that have been filed in court are not eligible for this program, however tickets that have resulted in vehicle registration suspension are.
The City's Clerk office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It will be closed Monday for the City's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.