TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Bruce Moe, Finance Director
Steve S. Charelian, Revenue Services Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Resolution Increasing Parking Citation Penalties by Five Dollars as Approved in the Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Budget (Finance Director Moe).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 15-0047
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 15-0047 increasing parking citation penalties by $5 per citation as approved in the Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The City issues approximately 70,000 parking citations per year. This increase is estimated to generate approximately $350,000 in General Fund revenue.
BACKGROUND:
This increase in penalties of five dollars per parking citation was approved by the City Council as part of the FY 2015-2016 budget, and is an important General Fund revenue source that helped balance the operating budget, particularly after the loss of a significant sales tax producer (DeWitt Petroleum) in FY 14-15.
DISCUSSION:
California Vehicle Code Section 40203.5 authorizes the City to establish penalties for parking violations. Basic City parking penalties have not been changed since 2008 (with the exception of State-imposed levies on parking citations for Courthouse construction which the City has passed through with prior City Council approval).
The increase as approved in the budget adds $5 per parking citation penalty. This will result in the majority of the parking citations increasing from $48 to $53. Certain more serious infractions currently carry higher penalties, such as unauthorized use of a disabled parking space, which current is a $333 penalty. Those violations will also increase by $5.
In determining the new penalties approved in the FY 15-16 budget, staff had conducted a survey of like-cities that issue parking citations, including Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach and Santa Monica. The proposed $5 parking citation penalty increase will place Manhattan Beach at the same level as Hermosa Beach ($53), slightly higher than Redondo Beach ($50), and below Santa Monica ($64), Newport Beach ($58) and Beverly Hills ($58).
A schedule of current and new parking citation penalties is attached.
Once the Resolution is adopted, the new penalties will go into effect August 1, 2015, providing time to program parking citation software and hardware with the new penalties.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 15-0047 increasing parking citation penalties by $5 per citation as approved in the Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 15-0047
2. Schedule of Parking Citation Penalties