Audit of ticket collections shows overpayments

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000 | 9:09 a.m.

An audit of the city's Parking Enforcement and Collections department suggests the city overcollected $680,000 from people who sent in a $20 payments quickly enough to qualify for a 50 percent reduction in the fine.

The city's 50 percent reduction program -- described on the ticket -- applies to anyone who pays the citation within 15 days. The audit says the city failed to refund all of the overpayments.

In 1999 107,000 parking citations were eligible for the reduction, but many violators sent in too much money.

Auditors found the city used some of that money to pay outstanding fines assessed to other folks who didn't feed the meters.

"However, many overpayments are never refunded," the audit states.

Auditors also determined that since 31,860 people paid the full $20 within 15 days, they likely wouldn't mind if the city scrapped the 50 percent reduction program altogether.

"Assuming all those individuals who paid off their parking citations within 15 days would have paid off their parking citations within 30 days without the early payment reduction program, the cost of the program to the city in 1999 was approximately $319,000," the audit states.

The city manager's office agreed that the 50 percent reduction program should be eliminated. The city manager would have the authority to remove the program without city council approval.

But that doesn't solve how to refund all of that money.

The city's finance department will try to identify car owners who made overpayments within the past three years. It could take out newspaper ads or place notices on its television channel looking for the people owed refunds.

"However, overpayments older than three years of age will be written off, because these records no longer exist," the a written response to the audit states.

The overpayments are just one of several serious issues raised in the audit report, dated Oct. 6, but made public this week.

The audit also found the need to increase and improve efforts to collect $8.6 million in outstanding parking fines and penalties amassed in the past five years.

The city is still owed $2.3 million for 1999; $1.6 million for 1998; $1.7 million for 1997; $1.5 million for 1996; and $1.6 million for 1995.

About 73 percent of the fines and penalties owed are from citations issued to vehicles with Nevada plates. However, auditors found the parking collections unit does not have a parking collection strategy or an automated tracking system.

Auditors recommend the city institute an auto booting (a lock placed on wheels) and towing program to "crack down on individuals with multiple outstanding parking fines."

The audit also found the parking collections unit dismissed overtime meter citations issued while drivers were in one of the downtown courts or at the work card office.

During 1999 more than 11,500 citations were dismissed -- meaning the city lost $230,000 in potential revenue, auditors wrote. The city has already halted the waiving of fines during court business.

The audit will be discussed Thursday when the Audit Oversight Committee meets for the first time with new City Auditor Radford Snelding. The meeting takes place at 2 p.m. in the eighth-floor conference room in City Hall.

In addition to the parking enforcement audit, the committee also will discuss the incendiary Sportspark audit completed back in August. That audit suggested the Las Vegas Sportspark was in serious financial trouble and was not living up to the letter of the city's agreement with the private sector recreation center.

That audit's release in August accompanied allegations that City Councilman Michael McDonald was trying to broker the sale of Sportspark to help his boss, Larry Sheffler, get rid of a bad investment.