January amnesty for tickets

The Town of Bath police will start booting cars of owners who have outstanding parking tickets in February. “I have got stacks of unpaid parking tickets,” Police Chief Craig Pearrell said.

Speaking at the town council meeting Tuesday evening January 8, Pearrell said January is amnesty month for parking violators.

Asked by Mayor Susan Webster what amnesty means, Pearrell said, “That means that they are not charged any late fines or any late fees of any kind.”

Those with outstanding parking tickets can clear them by paying the $8 face value of tickets if they are paid by the end of January, he said.

Starting in February, anyone’s car with an outstanding parking ticket found parked downtown will be booted. A $50 fee and payment of all outstanding tickets is required within 24 hours to remove the boot or the car will be towed at an additional expense to the owner, Pearrell said.

Yearly parking revenue
Pearrell reported parking revenue from both parking meters and parking tickets was $64,059 for the calendar year 2012.

Of that amount, $23,713 was from parking tickets and $40,346 was from the quarters collected from the town’s new digital parking meters.

Pearrell said the digital meters really make a difference. “You have fewer tickets written, more revenue and a heck of a lot more coins collected,” he said.

AAA Platinum Award
Pearrell reported that for the eighth year in a row, the Berkeley Springs Police Department has been awarded the American Automobile Associations highest award, the Platinum Safety Award.

The award plaque has been mounted on a wall in the police station next to the other AAA award plaques.