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Council holds first reading on towing authority for chronic parking offenders after debate over booting
Summary
Downtown manager Amy Tweeden presented a first reading of ordinance language to authorize towing for chronic parking offenders; council debated alternatives including booting, 'barnacle' devices and increased court enforcement and asked staff and the city attorney to return with phased language.
Downtown manager Amy Tweeden told the Petoskey City Council on April 6 that staff seeks an ordinance codification to authorize parking‑services towing at the direction of the city manager as a tool to address chronic parking offenders.
Tweeden framed the ordinance as a conversion of prior 2024 direction into code: "The ordinance is really a codification of direction that council gave in 2024, and turning that resolution into an ordinance," she said, explaining that staff sees towing as a deterrent to repeat non‑payers and that parking compliance was about 96% at year end.
Councilors questioned alternatives and logistics. Several members raised booting as a lower‑impact enforcement option; others noted risks and staffing constraints. One councilor urged greater court enforcement and collection efforts for judgmented accounts. The council also discussed an earlier trial of a wheel‑clip 'barnacle' device that staff declined to adopt after field testing found issues (damaged windshields and secure return logistics).
Amy Tweeden said staff had pursued education, payment plans and outreach before recommending ordinance changes. "We believe towing is an effective deterrent," she told council. Some councilors pushed for a phased approach—court enforcement, booting, then towing in extraordinary cases—rather than immediate towing implementation. "I won't vote in favor of towing at this point," Mayor John Murphy said during debate.
Staff warned of legal and logistical limits: changes in state procedures since COVID reduced some collection mechanisms (for example, limits on using license renewals to enforce payment), and some enforcement remedies (booting, towing, barnacles) raise equipment, staffing and liability issues. Council took the ordinance as a first reading, asked staff and legal counsel to draft phased language and return with alternatives that would allow a stepped enforcement approach.
