Cd'A to give parking scofflaws 'the boot'

COEUR d’ALENE — Those who ignore parking tickets issued to them in Coeur d’Alene will soon face a vehicle boot, and a healthy dose of public shaming.

A new ordinance was passed Tuesday night by the Coeur d’Alene City Council that places individuals with four or more unpaid parking tickets more than 45 days old on a publicly published “scofflaw list.” If a vehicle on the list is found in the city, parking enforcement will place an immobilization device on it until overdue fines are paid, or it is towed.

“It’s good to have some teeth to these parking rules so citizens know there are consequences to not obeying the law,” said Councilwoman Kiki Miller.

On the other side of the coin was Councilman Dan Gookin, who cast the lone vote against the new ordinance and said the “boot is rude an abuse of government authority.”

Deputy City Administrator Sam Taylor said the scofflaw list will be updated weekly and posted on the city’s website. Motorists who believe they were placed on the list in error will have the ability to appeal their inclusion by challenging whether they actually have the number of unpaid citations listed, or whether they were the owner or lessee of the vehicle at the time citations were issued.

Should a resident get back to their car and find an immobilization device, or boot, on it, they will have two days to pay all citations before the car is towed. If the vehicle is towed, it will remain impounded until all fines are paid in full.

According to Taylor, a sticker will be placed on the window of the vehicle warning individuals to not tamper with the boot. The sticker, he added, will also explain the boot-removal process.

Taylor said violators should bear the costs of the scofflaw program. In a report to the city council, he provided cost estimates and wrote that a towing company would likely charge $65 for the removal of a boot.

Diamond Parking, a Seattle-based company which has a parking contract with Coeur d’Alene, intends to charge the city $185 per month to add the program, plus $45 for every boot its employees install.

“Staff will need to devise a basic charge for motorists to pay a portion of that in their process so we can recoup that cost,” Taylor said. “It may be that some of those costs are borne by general parking revenues, as at a certain point it may be too much of a burden for the motorist.”

The boots themselves, which cost between $163 and $183, will need to be purchased by the city. Taylor said they are currently recommending the purchase of four boots to launch the program.

With the passage of the new ordinance, city employees will now work on additional components to ensure the program is successful. According to Taylor, an update to Diamond Parking’s contract will have to be completed to allow for the company’s local staff to place boots on vehicles.

An agreement with a local towing company, Taylor added, will also have to be made for the removal of the boots. Finally, city staff will update the municipal fee schedule to acknowledge the costs motorists will incur should their vehicle be booted, including an administrative fee.

All of those matters, including finalization of costs, will be brought before the city council for approval at a later date.