New Haven Independent

Posted by: Anonyme | September 16, 2008 8:22 AM

Tickets blowing off the car is one concern. Jerkoffs passing by who think it's funny to take the ticket off of the car and toss it are another. Yes, it happens. When I was a Jerkoff kid I did it more than once and I knew plenty of other Jerkoff kids doing it and as I grew old in New Haven some of my Jerkoff peers never stopped doing it and are still doing it into their 30's. The Jerkoff tearing up your ticket is like the dog eating your homework. It happens, nobody believes it happens, you take the fall for it happening because how do you track down and punish a dog or a Jerkoff.

Posted by: nh taxpayer | September 16, 2008 8:32 AM

aren't my taxes paying to cover the budget gap of these non-ticket payers? is alderman lemar serious? only in a movie does a ticket 'blow of a windshield'! or is he protesting too much because he is one of those aldermen who fix people's tickets? how many tickets does he have? how many times have his car(s) been towed? how about the other aldermen and city officials?

Posted by: Curious | September 16, 2008 8:39 AM

Does anyone know how to report people who purposely register their cars out of state to avoid CT taxes. I am aware of at least a dozen people who are full time CT residents and register their cars elsewhere to avoid the taxes.
Thanks!

Posted by: Walt | September 16, 2008 9:14 AM

Good idea, but if the City screws up and boots or tows a car in error, it should be required to automatically reimburse the victim for any expense incurred and probably pay a bit of a penalty back to the victim of their incompetence, Should not be necessary to sue.

I say this as a victim of one of the Cuticello -initiated Tax Collection Dept. errors.

Posted by: FairHavenResToo | September 16, 2008 9:36 AM

Do unto others, CURIOUS . . .

Posted by: cedarhillresident | September 16, 2008 9:56 AM

Or everyone can do what I did...put Mark Pietrosimone's number in your speed dial :)
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/09/12/news/a3-nenotow.txt

After all he offered he said he would do it for people he did not know! Sorry I could not resist :) Besides I pay my taxes and rarely get tickets.

But I am all for this it is a great idea! About time! But I remember many other time is same thing was implemented on one level or another and then it just stops...after all can't get the snow birds that are campaign contributors.
But with this whole boot thing it just may work!

Posted by: Gary Doyens | September 16, 2008 9:58 AM

This proposal is a bad idea. It should never be easy for the city to tow, boot or prosecute its residents and visitors. This is just a money making gimmick borne out of budget desperation.

Instead of spending time thinking up ways to raise cash, perhaps Mark and others should spend that energy thinking of ways to re-focus and re-tool city departments to be more efficient. Better still would be a plan to focus on core services and end mission creep.

Posted by: Roland Lemar | September 16, 2008 11:00 AM

I feel the need to further articulate my initial feelings about this proposal, which, when I haven't yet heard a full presentation from the City regarding their thoughts on this matter, is limited to a gut reaction based on the very limited information that I have and a basic belief in how a governemnt should interact with its residents....

First - the City ROUTINELY makes mistakes when towing/booting vehicles - tickets are often paid but not yet processed either online or through our biller in New York. The City needs to make sure there's clear due process, a transparent and functional system for adjudication as, with the current system we have in place, I fear there is a potential (and substantial) liability to the city to be towing/booting vehicles when we are aware of shortcomings in our internal structure.

Second - One ticket seems a little aggressive considering we have countless reasons why a ticket may not make it to the vehicles owner, or when our review/appeal process may not communicate effectively with the owner to make them aware of the negative outcome of their challenge (and thus, the ticket becomes DUE and the owner has no idea that they will soon be subject to tow/boot)

Third - I do feel that punishment should be fitting of the crime - If someone receives countless tickets for violation of parking regulations, then they should be subject to tow/boot if they continue to accrue outstanding parking tickets - but tow/boot is an expensive and terribly inconvenient experience to go through for parking too long in a 2-hour zone or failing to pay a single ticket that, for a variety of reasons, you may not be aware of. I truly believe that a government should not create an undue burden on its residents. That being said, I agree that we do need to find a way to get these back tickets paid in full, but this measure is off-putting at first glance.

Fourth- This is the Order, as written - Request approval to impound (wheel immobilize) vehicles with out of state plates after one parking tag delinquency...... Doesn't that just sound overly aggressive and unreasonable?

Fifth - If we are going to be aggressive with something, We need to go after out of state residents who fail to register/pay taxes for their vehicles parked in New Haven - Personally, I feel that this is a substantial revenue generator for the City, is a just and appropriate action and does not unfairly treat any residents.

Again, this is all a limited gut reaction to a proposal that I would have preferred to not comment on until I heard from the City Controller - but as Ms. Bailey saw fit to qoute me after I asked not to be qouted until I had a chance to review the proposal (my own fault for then giving her a gut response)I thought I would offer additional thoughts that defined the reaction that I had.

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | September 16, 2008 11:03 AM

Tow a car for non-payment of one ticket?

The city isn't cracking down on illegal immigrants like it's cracking down on legal residents.

How the hell is running this town? Out of their minds....

Posted by: Deuce | September 16, 2008 11:17 AM

"Does anyone know how to report people who purposely register their cars out of state to avoid CT taxes"?

Connecticut Tax Fraud Bureau
943 E. Main St
Bridgeport
203-330-9109

Connecticut Tax Fraud Bureau LLC
600 Main St
Monroe
203-452-8366

Posted by: Tim | September 16, 2008 11:22 AM

Alphonse,

You make a great point, its one thing to go after someone not paying any taxes, or has 20 unpaid parking tickets, but going after someone that has one unpaid ticket? Thats a little excessive. And how much in benefits do the illegals get in this city?

Posted by: Funky Chicken | September 16, 2008 11:42 AM

Hey FairHavenResToo:

Are we now enforcing a no snitching policy here too? I pay my taxes for home and auto not because I want to but because I have to. The folks that register their cars out of state and use are services increase the burden on the rest of us, and that is not fair. I am paying for a portion of their trash pick up, street sweeping, fire protection and all other city services. If someone makes a call to the state DMV I have no problem.

TFC

Posted by: FacChek | September 16, 2008 11:47 AM

Controller Mark Pietrosimone, just last week was acting out against current towing law by assisting a female friend to avoid a tow legally in process. What in his actions spurred this new urge to propose this complete opposite reaction.

Pietrosimone's proposal does not only impact out of state cars, one ticket violation subjects all New Haven's citizen driver's to the "one violation one tow rule".

Pietrosimone would do well to concentrate on his 10.6M budget shortfall, much of it create by lack of oversight by the finance department, and leave the traffic and parking solutions to Mike Piscitelli.
I can't wait for this public hearing.
"SLAM- DUNK- OUT"

Posted by: ball-zee | September 16, 2008 11:49 AM

Excuses, excuses, excuses. $11.4 million dollars of unpaid New Haven tickets. That could be 11.4 million dollars into the cities budget, how many new cops, school equipment or after school activities could that sponsor?
But no everyone cries what if my ticket blows away, or a little punk kid throws it off your car. Well my answer to this is you should not have left your vehicle in a position where a ticket can be given. Does this mean we should just let the money disapear and not try and collect it because a mistake or two may happen. No I feel the boot should be used in force. Delinquent taxes, tickets, or other owed monies should be payed or the boot should be applied. We as a society need to take responsibility for our actions and reap the consequenses including paying off your tickets if you are in the wrong. I wish they had more people out there towing and booting the deliqiuent scum who is stealing from the city by not paying what is due.
Almost 42000 out of state tickets are past due in New Haven. These people are using our roads and parking spots and not contributing to our city. Also the out of state plate while being a ct resident is a horrible thing for the community and city. These people are paying cheap out of state taxes and nothing to the state or city they live in. This is a major problem that the local community could fix. If a neighbor sees their neighbors car is registered out of state they should report the problem and let them start paying the same as everyone else. If you are to cheap to pay car taxes in Ct then get out.
Cheap scum who are to good to pay their tickets should be publicly advertised in the paper. Everyone should be aware of all the people in the city who are deliquent. I wonder how many city officials would be that list? Is that why there isnt one????????

Posted by: Curious | September 16, 2008 12:06 PM

Fairhavenrestoo-

My car is registered in CT and I ALWAYS pay my taxes. Why should our tax money go to take care of services for people who are guilty of tax evasion???

Wake up!

Posted by: FairHavenResToo | September 16, 2008 12:36 PM

I'm not opposed to snitching, per se, especially for violent crimes like robberies, assaults and murders. But I have been on the receiving end of particularly vicious snitching that was for pure vindictiveness and it was not pleasant. It took a lot of time and attorney's fees to straighten out that nightmare and punish the snitchers.

While I understand the bitterness of local vehicle taxpayers, the property tax on my home is so outrageous that I can also understand why someone would want to register their car out of state and try to save some money. If New Haven's tax system was a bit more reasonable, I'd have less sympathy for the scofflaws.

With respect to city services, I'm not 100% certain what's covered by property tax versus vehicle tax; perhaps someone here can help? But I've watched the garbage collectors dump my recycle bin items into the trash, skip my trash altogether, and have contests to see how high they can throw the recycle bin (which then cracks). I've also seen the police take hours to show up for a home burglary that was reported IN PROCESS. Considering my property tax, I'm definitely shelling out a LOT more than the city is.

Posted by: robn | September 16, 2008 12:45 PM

Roland is right about one thing. We have to have more precise, legitimate process before we boot and/or tow more frequently. The issue is liability. If New Haven incorrectly boots a vehicle and that happens to be a vehicle that some resident needs to get to a hospital emergency room or maternity ward, the city risks losing far more than the accrued parking ticket loss.

Posted by: Last Straw | September 16, 2008 12:49 PM

Some good points are being made in regards to payment and use of services. There is, however, too much gray area in regards to who should pay.
Are we to expect everyone to pay for the use of our roads? Are we to install tolls like NYC does for the "bridge and tunnel" crowd? Are we to start taxing bicycles (Meriden does)? What about all those scofflaws who choose to walk around New Haven?
We pay the city. The city provides services. We use the services, but so do out-of-towners. They provide their payment through use of New Haven's merchants, who in turn, pay a different tax to the city. It's basic Social Sciences 101.
New Haven's problem is they're coming up short. Rather than just throw money on the fire, smarter heads would look into the efficiency of each Department and try to SAVE money. I've been a resident long enough to know that this approach is out-of-the-question, as our City Gov't strives for inefficiency.

Posted by: Funky Chicken | September 16, 2008 12:54 PM

Hi FairHavenResToo:

Please note that I was careful to NOT list the PD as a service provided by the city, because frankly there is no service. But to be fair I have noticed that Public Works is picking up my trash and sweeping the streets quite nicely.

TFC

Posted by: Last Straw | September 16, 2008 1:10 PM

...And some off the cuff ideas to make New Haven some green:

1. Send city employees into Old Campus in search of scrap metal (I hear it's profitable)
2. Bake Sale (love me some cupcakes)
3. 5 cent bottle deposits (the trails on East Rock alone could propel us into the next century)
4. PayPerView Events -- Chief Lewis vs. Nick Pastore; Arturo Franco-Camacho vs. Richard Levin; Ralph Ferruci vs. Anyone
5. City-owned payphones in high crime areas
6. Aggressive Jaywalking Ticket Blitz on Whalley Ave.
7. Aggressive Jaywalking Ticket Blitz on Elm St. between York and College.
8. Sell those stupid NHPD Segways
9. Ramen Soup Kitchens
10. Citywide latte tax

Posted by: st. pt. ia | September 16, 2008 1:49 PM

I understand Roland's concern about a faulty system, but two things: one their is a system in place right now that is working: $200 and you get the club. So lowing that to $100 seems like a good way to tighten the screws and get more people paying up in the first place.

We should all remember that the people are getting tickets in the first place, so they are already on the wrong side of the law. I mean let's get serious here - people who get tickets tend to get tickets more frequently than those who do not. (I get tickets and I pay them. Tried not to pay them at first and the bill just goes up.)

And for all the people who lose a ticket, or have one blow of their car? Ahh come on! we are all adults and know the freaking PARKING LAWS! Are you claiming you're innocent not knowing you committed the crime? Be an adult and an upstanding citizen and take responsibly for your actions!

If you don't then get out from behind the wheel.

And re the cash: normally for running long on a 2 hour stint it's $20. It's $20 again after 2 weeks right? That's still a long way to get to $100.

Maybe the perp was totally anti social or completely stoopid and parked near a hydrant or was high at night and never noticed that he/she was the only person to park on the street sweeping side of the street. Too bad. Wake up and see what is going on around you. Or ride a bike or take the bus or something.

Isn't there something on the books that tells out of state drivers to register in the state within 30, 45, or 60 days? I've lived in 5 states in the US and every state has this requirement.

Roland has a good heart, but this city is broke and making anti social ticket collectors pay up sounds like good politics to me.

p.s. And yes if the city screws up it should pay up immediately - with a fine attached to itself!

Posted by: cedarhillresident | September 16, 2008 1:56 PM

I agree with Gary and Last straw. It is all about the shortage in the budget and they are trying to find money instead of looking to make budget cuts. And I am for the restructuring of the dept's so they are able to provide better services and spend less money. Which is totally possible. And the whole thing may be a diversion tactic to get our minds focused away from the issues that are happening right now.

But I agree with it because I pay my taxes and tickets. I could easily reg. my car in North Haven or VT and pay less in taxes and on car insurance. But I don't.....why....it is against the law! So Just as I don't want town hall to rip off the tax payers with their out of control spending I don't want visitor and temporary residents ripping me off.

Posted by: donna | September 16, 2008 2:12 PM

Ball-zee, clearly you have never witnessed meter people ticketing every car on a given street, whether parked legally or illegally, because it's the end of the month and they probably haven't met their quota. Clearly you haven't been ticketed for "beyond posted limit" and had to contest the ticket with receipts from shops in Orange to prove that you, in fact, were NOT parked in one spot in New Haven for 4 hours like the ticket claimed you were. Clearly you haven't watched a kid walking down a street snatching every ticket off of every car, just for kicks. Like everything else in this city, the traffic and parking department is inefficient and corrupt. Yes, people with unpaid tickets need to pay them, and every effort should be made to collect. But to boot/tow after one ticket? Absolutely not.
.
Oh, and don't forget the problem of New Haven residents with their cars registered out of TOWN, too. Madison's mil rate is a lot lower than New Haven's. Plenty of city residents have their cars registered at mom's house in the suburbs, too.

Posted by: Tom | September 16, 2008 2:13 PM

ST. PT IA -

You have the facts wrong here and you contradict yourself - The City's proposal isn't to lower the limit to $100 - Its to lower it to ONE ticket. One $20 ticket can get your car towed or booted. And the city has screwed up my car twice when I payed and my neighbors a few times as well. How much would the city fine itself PLUS have to repay all the costs of booting and towing? With our City's incompetence - this would end up being a money loser.

Posted by: st. pt. ia. | September 16, 2008 3:08 PM

Sorry Tom my bad - I read:

For residents for New Haven:

"Right now, the city is allowed to boot cars that have $200 or more in outstanding parking tickets. Pietrosimone proposes to lower that threshold to $100."

and I did miss this bit for out-of towners:

"For out-of-staters, tougher restrictions may be in store: Under Pietrosimone's proposal, cars with out-of-state plates could be booted after only one overdue parking ticket."

Perhaps that too steep, but I stand by lowering the rate overall to $100.

Also what is the percentage of screw ups versus doing it right? I'd still think we come out ahead even paying you and all your friends back and assessing a fine against ourselves for your trouble.

Posted by: bsmith | September 16, 2008 4:53 PM

Who actualy profits off this, Vio Alert an out of state company that makes $65 for booting a car. Maybe this isn't about the city making money but what the city promised Vio Alert..or pay back for a campaign contribution.

Posted by: jawbone | September 16, 2008 5:12 PM

FairHavenResToo,
You overshare regarding your personal entanglements and punishment of people who have snitched on you.
I would expect that if I called in a neighbor who I knew had been residing in New Haven for quite some time and hadn't registered their car that I wouldn't be punished for snitching. What kind of punishment are we talking here? A flaming bag of doggie doo-doo on my front porch of a shiv between my ribs in the dark of night? Its a retorhical question, please don't answer 'cause I don't want to know your personal tastes in vengence.

Posted by: jawbone | September 16, 2008 5:39 PM

BSMITH,
I for one am going to see if Vio Alert is a publicly traded company. As more municipalities search for new and more efficient revenue streams to make up their budget gaps the serves of companies like Vio Alert will become more valuable and in demand.
Maybe I can make up some of my $$$ lost to tax increases.
What happens when a town like New Haven invests heavily in companies like Vio Alert. Its like the snake eating his own tail. Not to get all Aesops on this post...

Posted by: FairHavenResToo | September 16, 2008 7:23 PM

Jawbone, if you took the time to properly read comments, you'd come across as a bit more intelligent. Putting words in readers' mouths serves no point.

My main contention in all of this still stands: I pay far too much already in property taxes and am certainly NOT getting my money's worth from the City; not even close. I can understand those who want to try to save money by registering their car elsewhere. Perhaps if the City was a better steward of taxpayers' money . . .

Posted by: East Rock | September 16, 2008 8:25 PM

How about ticketing people that run red lights in New Haven. The city could run on a surplus if they did that.

Posted by: jeffreykerekes | September 17, 2008 7:30 AM

"East Rock", money from moving violations all goes to the State. Not that it still isn't a good idea. The City only keeps parking tickets. That is why you see a whole division of the City dedicated to parking tickets.

In terms of taxes, be prepared for an upcoming release from the City announcing projections of taxes for the next five years. Taxes will still be going up with no plateau in sight in the next five years.

Posted by: toby | September 17, 2008 7:22 PM

i think towing a car for one ticket is a little strong...maybe two or three or more go for it...if the city needs money go tow in fair haven were two out of three cars are illegal misuse of plates no insurance no lisence....i seen more then once in c-town parking lot they switch plates out of town plates to....go get these cars...have a police car sit in the lot and watch the activities there..

Posted by: anon | September 19, 2008 11:40 AM

Fines for illegal parking of out of state plates, towing/tax delinquency, stop sign running, speeding and aggressive driving should be raised to a minimum of $1,000 per ticket through a special city antiblight ordinance, so that revenue goes directly to the city's coffers. Not only would this increase civility and reduce traffic (thereby causing a massive increase in land values in our oppressed, traffic-burdened city neighborhoods), it would help generate revenue for city services.