by KYW’s Mike Dunn
Don’t say we didn’t warn you. The Parking Authority’s new ticket fine schedule went into effect this week two months after City Council approval. The fines are slightly higher than even council expected:
City Council signed off on raising most parking ticket fines $5, so the expired meter penalty, the most common, was to go from $20 to $25. What did not get noticed was that the state legislature separately approved a $1 surcharge for Philly parking tickets, so the expired meter penalty is now $26.
Corinne O’Connor, head of on-street parking, says the extra buck is needed because the Parking Authority now oversees taxis and limos in the city:
“We did not receive any kind of funding for staffing and the cost it takes to run that department, so the dollar surcharge has helped with that.”
O’Connor says beyond the goal of the original increase is not to raise cash, but to spur turnaround at the meters.
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