Suffolk County Looks To Implement Late Fees For Unpaid Parking Tickets

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - It may soon be time to pay up on overdue parking tickets in Suffolk County.

As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, county officials are working on a measure to institute late fees of up tp $100 on overdue tickets.

About 67 percent of people who receive a parking ticket in Suffolk County never pay the ticket because there is currently no penalty for late payment. But the county executive has proposed a measure that would put late fees in effect.

"This will create an incentive for people to at least answer the ticket and and pay the ticket if they pled guilty or were found guilty on fine. Right now, especially for parking, there is no incentive. If you fail to pay a parking ticket now [or in] 10 years, it's the same fine with no penalty," Paul Margiotta with the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency told Hall.

If passed, the county could receive $3 million in new annual revenues.

"It's not important for raising money as much as it is collecting the money that is due to the county. These are people that owe the money and are not paying and if we don't enforce it, we're sending a really bad message," Margiotta said.

The measure would call for the fine to be doubled after 30 days and tripled after 60 days beyond its due date.

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