New York does not control the payment of traffic fines: drivers owe more than $ 100 million

The city could potentially lose more than $ 100 million in unpaid parking tickets and fees from 2012 to 2019, according to an audit by the Office of the Comptroller of the State. Writes about it Gothamist.

The City Department of Finance (DOF) is responsible for collecting fines and fees. But an audit found the Treasury Department was lagging behind in fundraising: after reviewing some 262 cases over a seven-year period from January 765 to February 2012, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found unpaid fines of $ 2019.

“We have determined that the DOF has not increased its collection of parking fines and fees. New York City has large outstanding account balances for parking violations and the DOF did not always take timely action to collect fines and fees, ”the Comptroller said in a report.

During the period covered by the audit, the city issued more than 34 million red light, bus lane, school speed zone and parking violations worth $ 2,8 billion.

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A spot check found 153 cases worth more than $ 2 million. The Controller's Office found that the Treasury Department took action to raise money in only 35 cases.

The controller's office hopes the report will force the finance department to do more to collect unpaid fines.

This message came after a spike in speeding tickets. During the pandemic, especially in the first few months, the number of speeding tickets increased, although the number of drivers on the road decreased.

The Department of Finance is responsible for collecting fines that are owned in New York City. For all other vehicles, he relies on the NYC Legal Department, which hires a private law firm to collect money from car owners residing in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York , Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. It is unclear how the city collects money for drivers from other states.

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In its City Guidelines, the Comptroller's Office suggests strengthening enforcement, especially for New York-registered vehicles owned by out-of-state residents. The report says that these are the cases that can bring the most loss.

The Treasury Department said the statute of limitations for speeding and parking tickets is eight years and that the department expects to raise millions in the coming years.

“In addition, some measures by the Department of Finance, such as the shipment of cars to receive parking tickets, were suspended during the pandemic. Resuming these efforts as conditions improve will further increase Treasury fees, ”a Treasury spokesperson said in a statement.