Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Revenue Collection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Forest Park proposes parking-amnesty drive and revival of vehicle-booting to recover millions in unpaid citations
Summary
Council heard that staff documented about $1.2 million in uncollected parking citations plus $220,000 in outstanding local citations; the village favored drafting a parking-amnesty program and reinstating a vehicle-boot ordinance to improve collections and deter chronic violators.
S1 told the council that village records show substantial uncollected parking and local ordinance citations and proposed two collection measures: a time-limited parking-amnesty program offering reduced settlements and reinstating the vehicle-boot program suspended during COVID.
"In 2024 alone, we had $1,200,000 in uncollected parking citations," S1 said, adding another $220,000 in outstanding local citations. Council members and Chief Gross discussed operational details, safety protocols for booting, payment-plan options for residents, and the fact an ordinance authorizing boots already exists.
S1 described a prior amnesty that reduced balances by 50% under a collections arrangement and said the village could design a similar window for eligible accounts; the boot program would be a tool for chronic violators after amnesty windows and payment plans expire.
Chief Gross said officers have done booting in the past and that officers would coordinate safety measures when boots are applied. Council emphasized compassionate enforcement for those with hardship and asked staff to include payment-plan options in any amnesty proposal.
Next steps: Chief and S1 will prepare a formal amnesty and boot proposal for the council, including estimated revenue uplift, operational safety plans and equitable payment options; the council expects to see a draft at a future meeting.
