Sacramento Officials: Law-Abiding Citizens Are Hurting City Revenues

Authorities in Sacramento, Calif., say law-abiding citizens are hurting city revenues.

Let us explain: The people of Sacramento have been doing such a good job of avoiding parking tickets that city officials say it’s starting to affect revenues.

“I do everything I can to avoid [parking tickets],” one woman told CBS Sacramento.

Sacramento’s Parking Services Manager Howard Chan says the city had planned on collecting $10 million in fines from parking offenders. But people have done such a good job of parking legally and feeding the meter that the city is now looking at a $1.2 million budget deficit.

“If you compare this year to 2009, there’s about a 15 percent decrease overall,” said Chan.

One of the reasons Sacramento residents have gotten better about parking is because the fines are pretty steep.

“Since 2009, the cost of an average ticket has risen 42 percent due to increases in state fees. That may have people thinking twice about breaking the law,” CBS Sacramento explains.

“I actually have coins in my car now, in case I forget,” said one woman.

Meters are also easier to feed after the city upgraded them to accept more than just quarters.

“If you make it easier for people to comply, they will,” said Chan.

But don’t worry, people of Sacramento: City officials say they’ll probably make it through 2013 without your parking fines.

“They say the million-dollar loss will have little impact on 2013′s general fund because the city will be able to make up the difference by using some money left over from 2012′s budget,” the report notes.

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Featured image courtesy Getty Images.