Mayor Arrigo Announces Holiday Parking Ticket Amnesty Program
December 4, 2018
The new holiday Parking Ticket Amnesty program proposed by Mayor Brian Arrigo and approved by the City Council Monday night will give parking scofflaws the chance to make things right--and do a good deed at the same time.
Under the Mayor's "Toys for Tickets" program, people who owe fines and fees for past unpaid parking violations have until December 21 to donate an unused toy to the City of Revere Parking Department. In exchange, the City will waive charges of $30 per individual ticket for each toy donated on up to five tickets. The toy should be new, unwrapped, of similar value, and brought to the City of Revere Parking Department at 300 Broadway, Post Office Building, Suite 2.
Toys collected through the program will be donated to needy children enrolled in the Revere Public Schools system.
"This is a great opportunity for people to clear up pending, overdue fines and bring happiness to a child who might otherwise have a dismal holiday," said Mayor Arrigo. "It's a way for the City to remind those children that we care about them."
Mayor Arrigo noted that amnesty programs have been successful in communities across the country in clearing up long-standing debts owed to communities. "The chance to combine an amnesty program and the administrative benefit of clearing up old debts was particularly appealing," said the Mayor.
Describing how the $30 waiver figure was determined, Mayor Arrigo said “based on the information we could gather, the average amount owed on unpaid parking tickets was approximately $30, so the $30 figure seemed a logical point to set the waiver amount," said Mayor Arrigo.
The waiver will reduce any amount owed on a single unpaid ticket by $30. For example, a $15 ticket that has accrued and additional $15 dollars in late fees for a total of $30 would be cleared in exchange for a suitable toy. Two similar violations could be cleared for the donation of two toys. Where a single violation generated a $25 fine that has accrued an additional $25 in late fees for a total of $50, a toy plus payment of the $20 balance would clear the ticket.
"We estimate that in many cases, a single $30 waiver will clear the violation altogether," said Mayor Arrigo, "but this is a chance for someone who has accrued a substantial number of unpaid parking violations to get a break of as much as $150 waived from the total amount owed, and at the same time contribute to child's enjoyment of the holidays."
The holiday amnesty program became effective upon the Council's approval and will continue through December 21. The amnesty applies to fines owed to the City of Revere regardless of age but does not apply to surcharges imposed by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in situations where the RMV already has recorded a non-renewal of license or registration order based on unpaid parking violations.