Town Offering One-Time 40% Off Discount on Outstanding
Parking Violations, Must Pay in Full
Huntington – Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci announced the
commencement of a parking violations amnesty program offering 40% off the total
balance owed ahead of increased efforts to collect on delinquent summonses and
the implementation of consequences for non-payment by the Town’s Public Safety
Department in coordination with the Town Attorney’s office.
The Town of Huntington is offering a parking violations
amnesty program, giving a one-time discount of 40% on the total balance of all
outstanding delinquent parking summonses for violations issued between January
1, 2013 through June 30, 2018 only. Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and Councilman
Ed Smyth co-sponsored the measure, which passed unanimously at the December 18
Town Board meeting.
“Amnesty programs for parking violations have been very
successful in communities across the country. By offering our residents an
amnesty program, it allows the Town to reduce the amount owed on violations by
40% on all fines and surcharges giving residents the chance to clear up
outstanding debts,” said Councilman Mark Cuthbertson.
“This is a great opportunity for residents to 'wipe the
slate clean' on outstanding parking tickets,” said Councilman Ed Smyth.
Balances owed to the Town exceed $1.5 million on
approximately 4,700 outstanding parking violations eligible for the amnesty
program.
The 40% discount offer expires and must be paid in full
on or by Monday, April 1, 2019. All unpaid parking summonses will return to the
original balance on Tuesday, April 2, and may result in further action by the
Town to collect.
“The parking violations amnesty program is a more efficient and cost-effective option for the Town to recover outstanding fines and surcharges than taking these cases to court,” said Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci, noting that enforcement changes will also be made by his Public Safety Department to encourage a change in driver behavior. “In the past, when a parking summons was issued, three letters were sent requesting payment of the summons but if the summons was never paid, inconsistent collection efforts resulted in non-payment.”
“In the past, there were few consequences for those who disregarded our parking rules, which was unfair to those people who took responsibility for their actions and paid their parking tickets. The Town’s amnesty program offers a great incentive for those with delinquent parking tickets to pay them and the increased enforcement that the Town is planning should encourage drivers to avoid the type of behavior that results in the issuance of a parking ticket in the first place,” said the Supervisor. “This administration is proactively addressing the parking availability issue residents and visitors face in Huntington and stepping up parking enforcement is necessary to ensure there is no abuse of our parking rules.”
A letter will be sent to each eligible participant of the
parking violations amnesty program detailing their delinquent parking summonses
and instructions for paying the reduced fine. The Town expects letters to be
sent to eligible participants sometime between Friday, February 15 and Tuesday,
February 19, as Town Hall is closed Monday, February 18 in observance of
Presidents’ Day.
Failure to pay the entire balance due may result in
additional collection and enforcement actions available to the Town, which may
consist of, but are not limited to, litigation and vehicle immobilization.
Payments may be made online, by mail or in person but must be made in full;
partial payments will not be accepted.
·
Pay online (must have plate # or citation
# to view summons online, online payments incur a $1 transaction fee plus 3% of
the fine): http://www.huntingtonny.gov/parking
·
Mail payments (must include summons # and
plate # on check or money order and be postmarked by April 1, 2019) to: Town of
Huntington, Traffic Violations Bureau, 100 Main Street, NY 11743-6904
·
Payments may be made in person by visiting:
Payment window in Lobby of Huntington Town Hall, 100 Main Street, Huntington
Payment may also be made online by clicking on the “Pay
Parking Ticket Online” button on the Town website homepage: http://www.huntingtonny.gov
Cash is not accepted except in an amount up to $25, if
paying in person only, along with the remaining balance paid by credit card,
check, or money order, as partial payments will not be accepted.
Eligible participants may contact the Traffic Violations
Bureau if they have any questions about the parking violations amnesty program
at trafficviolations@huntingtonny.gov
or (631) 351-2840.
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