'We don't want to tow your car': New Milwaukee ordinance cracks down on unpaid parking tickets

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — The City of Milwaukee is cracking down on what they're calling "habitual parking violators."

Under a new ordinance, people with five or more parking tickets over 60 days past-due could have their car towed.

"If you're going to rip up your ticket, you might as well not have a municipal ordinance, it's not being followed," said Alderman Scott Spiker, chairman of the city's public safety committee. "We have to make it matter." 

The Department of Public Works will be warning people months in advance.

Spiker said they will send letters on Oct. 31 to the more than 30,000 people with five or more unpaid parking tickets, considered "habitual parking violators."

"We don't want to tow your car, we just want you to pay the ticket," he said Wednesday.

According to Spiker, at least 12% percent of Milwaukee's habitual parking violators live outside of the city and they're getting letters, too.

"If you come in the city and enjoy our resources, we want you to but just want you to also pay your tickets if you make a mistake," he explained.

The ordinance begins on Nov. 1, but towing won't start until Jan 1., giving time to drivers to pay the tickets, set up a payment plan or go to court.

"Whatever payment plan you get on is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper than paying for the towing and storage of your vehicle," Spiker said.

The city is owed millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets, and Spiker calls the city's transportation fund "unhealthy" because of it.

"The nice thing about the parking fund is when it's healthy, you can make a transfer from it to the general fund, and you can help keep libraries open, you can help pave streets," he explained.

City leaders also want to see the new ordinance could improve parking accessibility.

"If we don't have cars moving, if we don't have them paying a meter and moving on, you get gridlock and nowhere to park," Spiker said.

Above all, the hope is that more enforcement will create more rule-followers.

"If this is successful, not as many people get towed. That's the goal," Spiker said.

The warning letters that will be sent out on Friday will give information on setting up payment plans or court hearings for unpaid tickets.