TITLE
Recommendation to adopt resolution amending Resolution No. C-27898 imposing a charge on delinquent parking violations sent to ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc., (ACS) for collection services; and authorizing City Manager to execute an agreement with ACS for collection services of delinquent parking violations for a three-year period with the option of renewing for two additional one-year periods. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach issues approximately 450,000 parking citations annually. Penalties assessed for these parking violations range from $37 for illegal parking on private property to $330 for illegally parking in a spot reserved for the disabled. The average penalty for a parking citation in Long Beach is approximately $41.
Over recent years, Long Beach has maintained a collection rate of about 80 percent on parking citations. While this collection rate is laudable when compared to other California cities, 20 percent or about 90,000 annual parking penalties are not being paid each year. Presently, City staff attempts to collect on unpaid parking penalties by sending a notice to the registered owner of the vehicle. If the penalty remains unpaid, a hold is placed on the future registration of the vehicle with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) until the parking penalty is paid. The DMV charges a non-refundable $3 fee for every vehicle registration the City designates for hold. This process works well, but there are certain classes of vehicles, for which the DMV cannot place a hold on the registration. These include vehicles registered out of state, vehicles sold or their ownership transferred prior to re-registration, or when the citation is issued on a rental car.
It is for these difficult to collect parking violations that City staff recommends entering into an agreement with a firm that specializes in collecting on these specific types of citations. Four firms specializing in parking violations collections responded...
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