LV offers to forgive some parking fees

Getting a parking ticket is no fun. Paying it is even worse.

But imagine if your tab with the parking police ran into the thousands of dollars.

That's the case with some drivers who have racked up tickets and fines ranging from $1,800 to almost $9,000. If they're so inclined, they can take advantage of a Las Vegas parking ticket moratorium that starts today and continues into next week.

Today through Thursday, and from Aug. 5-7, those with a past-due parking ticket can clear it by paying the original fine plus, if applicable, certain administrative fees. Late fees, which can triple the amount of the original ticket, will be waived.

City officials hope to collect a slice of the almost $10 million in outstanding fines and late fees owed from parking tickets. It's the first time amnesty has been offered on parking citations, and the city expects to net about $175,000.

Tickets can be paid at 417 N. Seventh St. in downtown Las Vegas.

For the top violators, simply paying the original fines would be expensive. And records show that parking tickets aren't their only problems.

Number 10 on the list owes $1,830 -- $600 of it in original fines -- on tickets issued in 2005 and 2006. Department of Motor Vehicles' records show that the car's registration was suspended for lack of insurance and that the vehicle has probably been salvaged.

The top ticket scofflaw has racked up $8,760 in penalties in a case that illustrates the limits the city faces in collecting past-due parking fines.

Fourteen of the driver's 15 tickets are for parking in a fire lane, which carries a hefty fine of either $100 or $250, and all but one of the tickets has tripled because of late fees.

The fire lane that the driver is parking in is on private property, and city parking enforcers can't "boot," or immobilize, a car unless it's parked on a city street, said Las Vegas spokeswoman Diana Paul.

The driver did have a vehicle that was booted, towed and sold by the towing company, she said. Records show that a new vehicle has been ticketed five times since December at the same place, and the owner has been notified that his car will be booted if found on a city street.

Several attempts to contact the vehicle's owner were unsuccessful. City records show that he's made a single $100 payment on his tickets.

Most of the other top offender cars have expired registrations or have had their registrations suspended because of the unpaid tickets or a lack of insurance, said DMV spokesman Tom Jacobs.

"It's doubtful if these vehicles are still on the road or in the state," he said. "If they are, they're breaking a lot more laws than just unpaid parking tickets."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.