LADOT fails to enforce millions in parking violations
$5.4 million in unpaid parking tickets
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The city Department of Transportation has failed to collect an estimated $5.4 million in unpaid parking tickets by not aggressively pursuing ticket "scofflaws,'' according to a city controller's audit released today.
In almost three-quarters of cases in which the department identified repeat offenders illegally parked, the attendant issued a citation instead of calling for a boot or to have the car impounded, the audit found. LADOT also failed to use license plate recognition equipment designed to catch regular parking violators, according to the audit.
LADOT traffic officers have the authority to boot or impound vehicles with five or more unpaid parking tickets. About $18.8 million remains unpaid by vehicles that fall into that category and whose registered owners have been notified they have exceeded the five-ticket minimum for impounding, according to the audit.
The report also found that DOT management effectively disbanded a unit tasked with going after scofflaws.
"This failure to deploy (LPR technology) resulted in a potential revenue loss of $5.4 million and, compounding the problem further, did nothing to promote a change in behavior for these continuous violators,'' City Controller Wendy Greuel wrote in the report. "With some offenders receiving up to 20 parking citations, it is not realistic for the LADOT to believe that these scofflaws would suddenly come to their senses and pay their parking tickets simply because another ticket was slapped on their windshield.''
Since she began her audit, Greuel wrote, LADOT has re-established its scofflaw enforcement unit and LPR technology.
"In light of the budget deficit that the city of Los Angeles is facing in upcoming fiscal years, we must ensure that we are enforcing the laws on the books and that no opportunities for collecting revenues are missed,'' Greuel said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The City Council voted unanimously to approve Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s choice to lead the embattled city Department of Transportation.
Villaraigosa nominated Jaime de la Vega, one of his top deputies, to take over the department, which was the subject of scathing audits and embarrassing headlines throughout April and May.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called today for an investigation of the Department of Transportation and ordered the immediate end of its controversial "Gold Card Desk,'' which has helped some residents dispose of parking tickets.
Villaraigosa called for the probe in a letter sent to DOT Interim General Manager Amir Sedadi.
"Various issues over the past few weeks point to glaring weaknesses at LADOT,'' the mayor wrote.
''We are well beyond the point of isolated incidents or a coincidence of events.''
In 1979, when she was student body president at John Kennedy High in Granada Hills, 17-year-old Wendy Greuel was nominated by the vice principal for one of Mayor Tom Bradley’s youth leadership awards. It launched an amazing time for the ambitious teenager.
“I came downtown and met him [Bradley] in the tower at City Hall,” said Greuel. “I sat there just in awe that I was in this building and meeting this mayor, and I became part of the mayor’s youth council. I thought ‘I really like this.’”
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—With little ghosts and goblins heading out into the night for tricks and treats, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation is offering some safety tips to keep everyone safe this Halloween.
Here are some guidelines for demonstrating safe pedestrian behavior as children walk through neighborhoods today and tonight.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—In the wake of a scandal at the city’s Housing Department involving Korean speakers, City Controller Wendy Greuel announced today that a hotline to report abuse can now handle whistleblower tips in 150 languages.
The waste, fraud and abuse hotline at (866) 428-1514 can accommodate reports in dozens of languages, including Armenian, Arabic, Cantonese, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Spanish and many more.
