Students who have avoided paying their parking tickets are
getting a break this month from a parking citation amnesty program
which encourages students to pay off their tickets before the end
of the year.
For the first time, the UCLA Citation Review and Adjudication
Office is offering an amnesty period from May 1 to May 31 during
which any late fees that have accrued on delinquent parking
violations will be waived if the amount of the original fine is
paid in full.
Manager of enforcement, traffic and adjudication Steve Rand said
that the amnesty program is a win-win situation both because it
reduces the amount that students have to pay, and also because the
office does not have to go through extra efforts to collect the
payments.
There are almost 15,000 delinquent citations, extending as far
back as five years, that are eligible for the amnesty program.
These delinquent tickets total $1.2 million with late fees combined
with the original fine. The original fines of the citations total
$572,000, which is what the university would get if all those
citations are paid off this month, Rand stated.
Since the amount of a late fee usually equals the amount of the
original fine, students who do not pay their ticket on time
ultimately pay double the amount of the original fine. As a result,
this amnesty period of one month is a 50 percent savings for people
paying their tickets now, Rand said.
As of the end of March, 50,794 parking citations had been issued
at UCLA since July of last year. The most frequently issued
citation is for non-display of a valid UCLA parking permit.
Manager of Parking Operations Terri McWilliams said that the
number of citations issued this year is slightly fewer than in
previous years because of increased placement of signs around
campus as well as increased maintenance of facilities such as
parking meters.
The amnesty program is being advertised using a variety of media
forms including university print publications, UCLA Radio and
fliers that were distributed and posted throughout the campus, Rand
said.
The Citation Review and Adjudication Office spent approximately
$1,500 in advertisements for the program but believes the
advertising is an investment because the office expects to collect
15 percent of the fines this month, Rand explained.
“We specifically scheduled (the program) during the
academic year while the majority of students are here at
campus,” he said.
According to California state law, anyone who has received a
parking ticket has 21 days from the date of issuance to pay or
contest the ticket.
A notice on the Transportation Services Web site warns students
that failure to pay outstanding parking fines will result in
vehicle registration being withheld by the Department of Motor
Vehicles and the vehicle may be impounded.
Additional consequences may include property seizure.
Even if a student with an outstanding parking ticket graduates
or moves out of the state, so long as the vehicle is owned by the
same person, the DMV is queried in all 50 states so that payment
can be received.
Starting June 1, the late fees will be reinstated and delinquent
citations that have not been paid may be reported to a collection
agency, Rand said.