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Committee recommends moving parking penalties into town fee schedule; debates replacement-cost approach
Summary
Members debated whether fines should reflect sign replacement costs or be set as a flat penalty and recommended removing penalty amounts from the ordinance into the board of selectmen's fee schedule; motion to move penalties passed unanimously.
Committee members questioned whether fixed penalties in the 2000 ordinance still fit current costs and enforcement practice. One member suggested penalties should at minimum cover the "cost of replacing" damaged signs rather than be a nominal fine.
After discussion, a member moved that the committee recommend removing specific penalty amounts from the ordinance and placing them in the fee schedule administered by the board of selectmen; the motion was seconded and recorded as approved. "I think that penalties... need to be updated," a committee member said during the discussion. The committee noted that leaving amounts in the fee schedule will allow the board of selectmen to adjust fines without re-adopting the ordinance.
The move aims to modernize enforcement economics and to avoid frequent ordinance updates for fee changes.
