ACTION SHEET ITEM FROM THE PUBLIC WORKSICIP AND LAND USE COMMITTEE MEETING OF MONDAY, JULY 28,2014 ITEM 15 REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND READOPTING ARTICLE IX OF THE UNIFORM TRAFFIC ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH THAT PARKING VIOLATIONS RELATED TO PARKING METERS, CITY PARKING LOTS AND CITY PARKING GARAGES ARE NUISANCES AND SUBJECT TO ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION; AND MAKING SUCH OTHER CHANGES AS ARE NECESSARY TO MEET THE PURPOSES OF THIS ORDINANCE (COUNCILOR DIMAS) (SEVASTIAN GURULE) PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE ACTION: Approved FUNDING SOURCE: SPECIAL CONDITIONS I AMENDMENTS I STAFF FOLLOW UP: VOTE FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN CHAIRPERSON TRUJILLO X COUNCILOR BUSHEE X COUNCILOR DIMAS X COUNCILOR DOMINGUEZ X COUNCILOR RIVERA X 1 Date: July 21,2014 To: Public Works Committee Via: bepartment Director ~ From: Re: An Ordinance Repealing and Readopting Article IX of The Uniform Traffic Ordinance Item and Issue: This bill repeals and readopts Article IX of the Uniform Traffic Ordinance to establish that parking violations related to parking meters, city parking lots and city parking garages are nuisances and subject to administrative adjudication which would also include the use of a collection agency. Background: The total number of citations issued in calendar year 2013 was thirty thousand and five (30,005) with a base fine value of eight hundred fifty thousand, five hundred and twelve ($850,512); the total outstanding amount is three hundred twenty four thousand forty four ($324,044). Those violations that would be considered nuisances make up approximately 69% of total violations issued. They are: *Parking at an Expired Meter (53%) *Exceeding the Time Limit (I%) *Fee Notices (9%) *Penalty Assessments (6%) The total number of citations that would be considered a nuisance under the proposed code amendment is twenty thousand nine hundred thirty eight (20,938), with a base fine value oftwo hundred eight five thousand, nine hundred eighty eight ($285,988); the total outstanding amount is one hundred thirty six thousand, six hundred sixty nine ($ 136,669) or 5,307. New Mexico plates were issued sixteen thousand seven hundred and eight ( 16, 708) and four thousand two hundred thirty were issued to out-of-state plates. Currently, all parking violations are considered petty misdemeanors which require collection and adjudication through Municipal Court. The parking division follows the following collection process for parking violations: I. After 15 days of non-payment, the Parking Division sends a penalty assessment notice to the vehicle' s registered owner (the violator) notifying them that the fee has doubled. (The issuance of this notice is dependent upon the parking division having the curTent registered owner's name and address for the vehicle that received the citation.) 2. After 30 days of non-payment (and 15 days after the penalty assessment is issued), the parking division sends a summons to appear in Municipal Court on a specific date and time to answer for the outstanding fine. 2 3. The Municipal Court sends a criminal summons to those violators who did not appear as summonsed by the parking division. 4. If the violator does not appear as criminally summonsed, the Municipal Court follows up with a Failure to Appear Notice and, potentially, a bench warrant. Under the proposed code amendment, the parking division will have the opportunity to become more proactive in its collection efforts and responsive to its requests for appeal for parking violations related to parking meters, city parking lots and city parking garages. The parking division will implement a new process for collections and appeals for violators cited for parking nuisance violations: I. After I5 days of non-payment, the Parking Violations Bureau will send a default notice to the vehicle's registered owner (the violator) notifying them that they have incurred a twenty five dollar ($25) late fee and that payment is due within fifteen (I5) days from the date ofthe default notice. 2. lf payment is not received within fifteen (15) days from the date of the default notice, Parking Violations Bureau staff will pursue all remedies for collection. Upon researching collection opportunities, we have learned that our current parking management software company, T2 Systems Inc. provides collection services and that they have a substantial collection rate. Through our preliminary discussions, we have discovered that the vendor offers three options for payment for these services: 1. The city of Santa Fe pays the full price for the collection services; 2. T2 Systems Inc. will keep a percentage ofthe collected amount; or 3. T2 Systems Inc. will pass their collection fee onto the violator. In option three, the city will collect I 00% of the outstanding violation amount and the customer will be charged an additional fee for the collection services. The parking division will establish a separate section called the Parking Violations Bureau which will be comprised of a supervisor and two additional staff members whose job duties will be dedicated to the new nuisance violation adjudication processes to include management of the collection agency contract and the existing citation adjudication processes in conjunction with Municipal Court. In addition to these two processes the Parking Violations Bureau will be solely responsible for the management of the online appeal and citation module of our parking management system which is expected to be implemented by late October of this year. This will allow for greater customer service, internal controls, efficiencies, and thorough accountability. Establishing the Parking Violations Bureau outside of the current parking accounting section will create a needed separation of duties. There are currently two full-time and one part-time staff members that work in Parking's accounting section who are assigned and responsible for providing direct citation adjudication job functions. These staff members are responsible for attending Municipal Court, collecting, researching and preparing all required documentation to be presented to the judge during parking court, making all necessary account adjustments and ensuring that all relative correspondence is scanned and attached to the customer accounts in our parking management software system as required by our new internal controls. These same staff members are also responsible for providing the same job functions for the requests for dismissals that are received directly through the parking division and are presented to the Judge separately from parking court. Unfortunately, these same staffmembers also have additional, critical job duties separate and apart from addressing Citation adjudication, one position being the supervisor of the accounting section. This has proven to be challenging over the years, primarily because this excess citation adjudication paperwork is quite time consuming and takes the accounting supervisor as well as two key staff members away from other supervisory and needed services, the lack of system automation within the Parking Division and Municipal Court, in addition to the extra internal control processes implemented as a result of the 2013 forensic audit. Ifthis code amendment is approved, the parking division can hire additional staff that will absorb the adjudication duties and restore the accounting section supervisor and support staff to their original job duties. ln addition, the division can potentially collect up to 95% of 3 the fines which could potentially result in an estimated additional two hundred seventy one thousand six hundred eighty eight dollars ($271 ,688) in revenue. In speaking with Municipal Court Judge Ann Yalman, her main concern is that patrons who wish to appeal a parking violation will be confused about whether they have to appear in Municipal Court or before a Hearing Officer. In order to avoid confusion and make the process as clear as possible, we plan to issue two separate types of notices that clearly identify whether the patron should present their case for appeal to the Municipal Court or to the Hearing Officer. Judie A mer, former Assistant City Attorney, reported during the June 17, 2014, Public Safety Committee meeting that the parking division can only collect on cases that have been filed one year from the date the citation was issued. Ms. Amer also reported that she believes the parking division can collect on the outstanding citations issued in 2013. Therefore, the estimated uncollectable debt is approximately seven million six hundred ninety two thousand five hundred thi1ty dollars ($7,692,530) in parking violation fines issued between 2000 and July 7, 2013. The proposed effective date of this ordinance is January 2015 which should allow sufficient time for parking management to: • Hire a Hearing Officer; • Establish the Parking Violation Bureau as a separate entity from parking's accounting section and hire I transfer staff; • Revise internal standard operating procedures and provide training to staff; • Order additional supplies as needed; • Develop a strategic public relations campaign Requested Action: Staff is recommending approval of this code amendment. 4 1 CITY OF SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 2 BILL NO. 2014- 3 INTRODUCED BY: 4 5 Councilor Bill Dimas 6 7 8 9 10 AN ORDINANCE 11 REPEALING AND READOPTING ARTICLE IX OF THE UNIFORM TRAFFIC 12 ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH THAT PARKING VIOLATIONS RELATED TO PARKING 13 METERS, CITY PARKING LOTS AND CITY PARKING GARAGES ARE NUISANCES 14 AND SUBJECT TO ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION; AND MAKING SUCH OTHER 15 CHANGES AS ARE NECESSARY TO MEET THE PURPOSES OF THIS ORDINANCE. 16 17 BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF SANTA FE: 18 Section 1. [REPEAL] Article 12-9, of the City of Santa Fe Uniform Traffic 19 Ordinance, (being Ord. #2006-34, as amended) is repealed. 20 Section 2. A new Article 12-9 of the City of Santa Fe Uniform Traffic Ordinance is 21 ordained to read: 22 ARTICLE IX [NEW MATERIAL] PARKING 23 12-9-1 ADMINISTRATION. The parking division director has the authority to administer 24 the provisions of Article 12-9.* 25 12-9-2 DEFINITIONS.