Parking amnesty aids needy in Lockport
Scofflaws get break by donating edibles
LOCKPORT — The city’s parking ticket amnesty was a big help to those who feed the city’s hungry.
At a news conference Thursday in City Hall, Mayor Michael W. Tucker and police officials displayed 1,400 cans and boxes of nonperishable food items collected last month.
Under terms of the amnesty, people with unpaid parking tickets were allowed to pay them off at face value, without late fees — but only if they brought in at least three food items for every ticket.
The Hickory Club, the Lockport Police union, volunteered to match every can or box of food with one its members purchased.
“That made it an overwhelming success,” Tucker said.
“It was kind of a unique idea. I’ll be honest with you, I was skeptical at first,” Police Chief Lawrence M. Eggert said. But he found that Amy Wiltse, the department’s parking ticket clerk, was on to something.
“It was interesting to watch. People would come in with bags of food sagging under the weight and pay seven or eight tickets,” Eggert said.
Wiltse said the high for the month was one woman paying off 18 tickets. In all, about half of the delinquent tickets in her files were paid off, and the city collected $4,100 in fines.
“We cleared 200 tickets that would have gone to warrants,” Wiltse said.
The standard parking ticket fine of $20, if not paid within five business days, rises to $30. The fine then rises to $50 after 15 business days, then $75, once the ticket is sent to the warrant officer for arrest. In that case, the scofflaw also has to post bail.
“In today’s economy, $20 is a lot of money,” Eggert said. “People would come to Amy and say, ‘Do I pay my food bill or do I pay my parking tickets?’ ”
The food haul was divided up right after the news conference, with equal shares for the Salvation Army, St. John the Baptist Outreach Center, Niagara Community Action Program and St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
James Haid, director of the Outreach Center, said food supplies have become tougher to come by. “Those who used to be our donors are now our recipients,” said Haid, whose food pantry served 14,000 meals last month.
“This is just so awesome. Do you know how much money they saved people?” said Suzanne Shears, executive director of NiaCAP. “I know we’ve had an increase of 200 families [served at the organization’s pantry] in the past month.”
Wiltse, who borrowed the idea after seeing a network television newscast about a similar program in Salem, Mass., said she doesn’t think Lockport will do this again soon.
“If we said we were going to do it again, people would hold onto them and not pay their parking tickets,” she said.
Eggert suggested a large city, like Buffalo, could do a lot of good with a similar program.
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