Saugus taking steps to collect outstanding parking tickets

SAUGUS – While parking enforcement has written better than $250,000 in violations since last July the collections are not matching fines but Town Manager Andrew Bisignani hopes that is about to change.Bisignani has inked a deal with a company designed to process and collect parking fines.”The collection ratio is dismal to say the least because there is no incentive for people to pay,” he said.Bisignani said the town has neither the manpower nor the expertise to essentially act as a collection agency but after putting out a bid, he has found a company that has both.The company, Bisignani explained, has issued six hand held computers to the town to be used by the two parking clerks and the patrolmen. Parking tickets issued are entered into the computer and that information is downloaded to the company at the end of each day. Bisignani said the town pays a flat fee of $5 per violation for the service but with the average ticket costing $50, he said it’s not a bad deal.And he pointed out, since the town is barely collecting anything now, it makes it an even better deal.”We could go without it but 10 percent of nothing is nothing,” he said.Finance Committee Chairman Robert Palleschi agreed with Bisignani. He said if the town’s collections are nil then any step up would be an improvement. His only concern is that the need for a revolving account could be cause for debate on Town Meeting floor.Bisignani said he wrote an article for the Town Meeting warrant requesting the institution of a revolving account specifically to handle parking violations.”We need to have a vehicle to accept the money for the fines and pay the vendor,” he said. “I need the revolving account because otherwise the money will just go into the general fund.”The money collected from parking fines is split between the Police Department and the Commission on Disabilities, it does not go into the general fund.Bisignani said he has heard the rumblings of opposition to his plan but he has yet to hear a solution other than his hiring a vendor.”We need some leverage but the town doesn’t have the means to exercise the leverage,” he said. “If we handled this in house we would have to hire someone to go after the fines, someone with the expertise because we don’t have that now.”Bisignani admitted that when he handed out ticket books to a part time parking enforcement officer and K-9 Officer Harold Young, he never imagined they, combined with the patrolmen, would write so many tickets.”They are paying attention but we’re not collecting the fines,” he said. “There are other communities doing this. We are not the only ones.”