New Haven Independent

City Hall announced Thursday that it will no longer slap the mechanical boot or tow your car on Church Street between Chapel and Elm during hours when the tax collection office is open.

The announcement came as a July 1 deadline nears for people to pay their annual taxes.

In recent years the city has cracked down on people who owe back taxes by sending mercenary towers throughout town at all hours to disable the vehicles, and tow many of them, if a mechanical scanner claims that the owners owe taxes. (There have been some momentous mistakes as well as some political favoritism, but that’s another story. Or another slew of stories.)

Mayor John DeStefano said at a press conference Thursday that the city wants to help people pay their taxes. So it has made three changes to the set-up at the tax office at City Hall:

• A new “tow/boot free zone” is in effect on the block of Church so people can park and pay back-taxes without getting booted in the meantime for the unpaid bill. (That has happened.) City spokesman Adam Joseph said the zone is in effect only during hours when the tax office is open.

• Those hours are increasing for period from June 25 to July 7 and then July 23 to Aug. 5: opening at 8 a.m., closing at 6 p.m.

• A city employee is manning an information table right outside the door to the tax office. Taxpayers can check in there first to be directed to the correct line and find out if they have all the right documents.

DeStefano (pictured with Tax Collector Maurine Villani) said the changes stemmed from suggestions from taxpayers.

He said he recognizes the city has “aggressive” collection policies. That’s why New Haven has the best collection rates among Connecticut cities, he said. “When everybody pays their taxes, everybody pays less.”

Still, he added, “We won’t tow your car when you’re coming in to pay.”

What if people can’t find a spot on the no-boot block?

“They really ought to try to find a space on the block,” he said.