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Police recommend four-day abandoned-vehicle standard; trustees approve change from seven days
Summary
Chief PJ Trippi clarified enforcement procedures for suspected abandoned vehicles and recommended shortening the formal tracking period to four days; trustees voted to change the village policy from seven days to four (with a six-day standard for village-owned parking lots).
Chief PJ Trippi told trustees that residents do not have to wait seven days to report a suspected abandoned vehicle: officers document calls, photograph the vehicle and attempt to contact registered owners; if a vehicle remains in place after a documented warning, officers may tow it.
Trippi summarized current practice: the department documents calls in the records-management system, takes photographs (including tire-valve position to detect movement), attempts to contact local owners, applies a warning sticker and checks again before towing. He said not all parking complaints are abandoned-vehicle calls and reported 236 parking complaints in 2025 through June 16, of which 15 were for abandoned vehicles.
Trippi told the board he recommends a four-day tracking period rather than the existing seven days or a shorter one- or two-day standard. He noted some communities use 24–48 hour standards but warned that towing residents’ cars for short absences would be an undue burden; he also described an exceptions process (residents can call to document vacation/medical exceptions).
Following discussion the board voted to amend the drafted resolution and change the village standard to four days for vehicles on public streets (with no more than six consecutive days in village-owned parking lots); trustees approved the amendment.
