News -> INDReporter TUE, MAR 5 10:32AM by Walter Pierce

Scofflaws beware: LCG getting tough

The City-Parish Council will consider on Tuesday night an ordinance that offers an amnesty period for late fees attached to unpaid SafeLight/SafeSpeed and parking violations. Officials hope the amnesty period will encourage those with outstanding fines to pay up, because after the amnesty period, Ordinance 044 clears the way for the city-parish attorney to take scofflaws to court.

According to the ordinance, there are 11,800 unpaid parking tickets, 6,400 unpaid red light-running citations and 11,800 speeding citations for a total of $3.1 million in unpaid fines to Lafayette Consolidated Government. The ordinance waives the late fees associated with those violations through April 30.

According to a memorandum sent to LCG Chief Administrative Officer Dee Stanley by city-parish attorney Mike Hebert:
By establishing this amnesty, it is hoped such action will act as an incentive in paying the violations which are due LCG, which could also save substantial time and expense of the Legal Department [as it] begins filing suits to collect these delinquent violations. By eliminating the penalty for each violation, the violator would realize a 33 % reduction/savings if the violation is paid during the 30 day amnesty period.
But the ordinance also specifies that following the amnesty, citations valued at $125 or more that are 120 days late will be subject to legal action by consolidated government: “[T]he Lafayette City-Parish Attorney shall enforce collection of all unpaid fines, fees, penalties, late payment penalties and administrative adjudication fees in a court of competent jurisdiction for vehicles registered with the Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles.”

If the ordinance clears introduction it will be voted on as a final ordinance on March 19.

To read the ordinance click here.

Walter Pierce
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Comments (3)add
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written by Greg Foreman , March 05, 2013 - 09:09 am
How about this? The city of Lafayette creates a “bounty” system. Specifically, the city publishes and distributes a list-electronically or via printout-of the violators to local towing firms and police officers in the parish. Any one finding the violators vehicle, impounds the vehicle and it remains impounded until the violation along with the related cost of towing and storage is paid in full. If the total of fines, towing and storage is not paid within thirty days, the vehicle becomes the property of the government and sold to satisfy the outstanding balance. The towing company or officer responsible for the impounding the violator receives a percentage of the amount collected. That's how you go about collecting outstanding fines and violations. You don't reward the violators by reducing the fines. That is absolutely ridiculous. To handle this situation in the manner advocated is in essence rewarding the violators by reducing their fine. The city-parish council needs to take the “bull by the horns” and “grow a pair”. This issue has been played with way to long.
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written by Michael A. Moss , March 05, 2013 - 02:44 pm
How about this, what if you own the vehicle and you were not driving? And, what if the car is leased and owned by the leasing company? And, what if the person is in the local political clique? And, what if the person hires SECRET CAJUN MAN to nullify his fine?


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written by Greg Foreman , March 06, 2013 - 03:10 am
All of the theorized situations under the sun can not and will not change the fact that the owner of the vehicle is “150%” liable for any and all violations-assuming of course theft was not involved. The fact is, the owner receives notification of any violation(s) incurred. The system provides for the owner to communicate with and explain any and all third party violations. If the owner of the vehicle does not have the common sense to respond to a violation, to protect their own property, it is their own fault. This is the situation with respect to these three million dollars in outstanding tickets. Providing an “amnesty” program allowing a 33% discount is ludicrous. Especially when one considers the financial malaise Lafayette is experiencing.
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