CCPD Increases Collection Efforts of Parking Citations

Today the Parking Control unit of the Corpus Christi Police Department will launch a parking citation round-up of unpaid parking citations.  Parking Enforcement Officers will begin ‘booting’ vehicles with outstanding parking citations that have accumulated 3 or more parking citations that remain unpaid.

The front wheel of the vehicle will be fitted with a mechanical clamping device known as a Denver Boot, which secures the wheel making the vehicle un-drivable until removed. The device will remain in place until the vehicles owner pays all outstanding unpaid parking citations to any vehicles registered to that owner and an applicable boot and/or tow fee.

Beginning January 1 of this year any new parking citations became civil violations versus criminal violations. In just 3 ½ months 31 vehicles already surpassed the 3 citation mark, with some having up to 10 unpaid citations. Under the criminal parking citations’ falling under Municipal Court the ‘boot-list’ has 475 vehicles with over $2.6 million owed to the city since 2004. Even though all of those on the list had received notification of the intent to boot very few responded. 

The Office of Administrative Hearings which now adjudicates civil parking citations was launched in January with a real-time automated software system by Duncan Solutions that updates daily. The OOAH has seen the percentage of paid citations triple over the last 4 months with the multiple payment options and the ease of paying. However the same vehicle owners who ignored the citations under Municipal Court have continued to ignore citations under the civil system. Four of the first 31 vehicle owners on the new boot list cleared their citations after notification. 24 of the 27 remaining vehicle owners have citations under both systems with one person having over 88 tickets for almost $3000 in outstanding citations and several vehicle owners owing between $500 and $1000.  Seeing vehicles on the list with 20, 40 or 60 citations is not uncommon. 

Parking Control reports most of the unpaid tickets belong to individuals who own vehicles valued at $30,000 or more and have failed to pay their citations. Most vehicle owners have been issued at least three and upto eighty-eight citations.  According to Marc Denson, “less than 2% of the population owes $3 millions and that’s unfair to the other 98% who either abide by the parking regulations or pahy their citations.”

Prior to January of this year the city would send notices to those placed on the boot-list. Under the new system the city sends a notice for every unpaid citation on the 15^th day and both a certified and first class notice when qualified to boot. Some of the names on the new list have received 12 letters in 4 months and still ignored them. CCPD and Municipal Court are working together moves to more effective collection practices that can’t be ignored and have proven effective in other cities.

Those with outstanding unpaid parking citations prior to January of this year are encouraged to contact Municipal Court and those with outstanding unpaid parking citations since January to contact the Office of Administrative Hearings to make arrangements to clear up those citations before they are booted or towed.   Booting adds $75 to the fines and towing if the vehicle is not redeemed by paying all outstanding citations by 4:00 pm the day the vehicle is booted adds another $153.