City Council kicks 'boot' idea to the curb for now

Aug 16, 2023

After twice voting 3-1 last month for preliminary approval of an ordinance that would allow Meadville Police Department to immobilize vehicles with unsettled parking fines by using a 'boot,' members of Meadville City Council on Tuesday voted 2-2 on the third and final reading of the ordinance.

Parking scofflaws take note: The long boot of the law, seemingly set to stomp down on repeated violations by out-of-state residents, was tripped up Tuesday.

After twice voting 3-1 last month for preliminary approval of an ordinance that would allow Meadville Police Department to immobilize vehicles with unsettled parking fines by using a "boot," members of Meadville City Council on Tuesday voted 2-2 on the third and final reading of the ordinance.

The tie vote means the ordinance failed and, for the time being, city police won't be clamping down on violators, some of whom accumulated as many as 17 or even 30 unpaid parking tickets, according to Chief Michael Tautin.

The outcome was determined largely by attendance: In May, Deputy Mayor Larry McKnight joined council members Gretchen Myers and Jim Roha in voting in favor of the ordinance with Councilwoman Autumn Vogel opposed. Mayor Jaime Kinder did not attend the May 17 meeting when the vote took place.

On Tuesday, however, it was Kinder who was present and McKnight who was absent. Kinder joined Vogel in opposing the booting proposal, leading to the ordinance's failure. Had McKnight participated to support the measure, it would have passed.

When the city's attorney clarified that the tie vote meant the ordinance had failed, Kinder said, "Yeah, for now."

After the meeting the mayor said she was not opposed to booting in principle, but felt council could come up with a better approach than that found in the proposed ordinance.

"I’m worried about the negative effects on people here in town," Kinder said. "I thought we could make it a better ordinance."

Vogel last month called for further consideration of alternative options before a vote and emphasized her concern that residents with unpaid parking tickets can be jailed if they fail to respond to summonses regarding the tickets. Immediately before the vote Tuesday, Vogel said council should address the "bigger picture."

"Parking penalties overall need to be addressed," she said. "I think this is taking a narrow view."

The proposal to allow booting of vehicles arose from frustration among parking enforcement and police personnel, according to remarks from Tautin last month — frustration generated specifically by repeat offenders whose vehicles were registered out of state.

When an out-of-state vehicle accumulates multiple unpaid tickets, city police have little recourse, Tautin told council. Tickets are issued to the registered owners. If the owners ignore the tickets and receive a summons to appear in court, they can ignore the summons as well. A magisterial district judge can issue a bench warrant for failing to respond to a summons, but extraditing a vehicle owner from another state over parking violations isn't feasible, according to the chief.

As a result, some violators have parked with impunity. Tautin cited the Market House in particular as a site for repeat violations and also pointed toward out-of-state college students driving vehicles registered to their parents as frequent offenders.

After the 2-2 vote Tuesday, Myers asked the city's attorney, Tim Wachter, if the ordinance would be considered again.

"If council wants it to come up again," he replied, "it can."

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at [email protected].

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