A month and a half ago, I wrote about the legalized scam
currently being operated by the City of Milwaukee.
Based on a new ordinance, the City has begun issuing $50 tickets to any auto parked on a city street that doesn't have a current renewal sticker displayed on the rear license plate. These vehicles are also subject to being towed - which will cost the owner over $150.
Prior to parking checkers writing a ticket, the technology available to them tells them whether or not the vehicle is properly registered. Therefore, even though they know that the vehicle's registration is current, they are still writing tickets because the sticker is gone.
Wagner wants a free pass for folks who don't properly display the renewal sticker because, he claims: Typically, the reason the sticker is gone is because somebody (not the owner) has stolen it.
Well! There you have it. Jeff says that all of those missing stickers are on cars of the righteous instead of someone who is using the "Twofer" registration system. He's positive that no one would take the paid renewal sticker for this car and put it on the other one, knowing that the chance of being pegged with a sticker is mighty slim.
Now, our ne'er-do-well has one car with a sticker that won't draw attention and another with no sticker that shows in the system as being legally registered.
Sorry, Jeff. There's a reason for those laws to be on the books. I'd have thought you would be supportive of local law enforcements efforts to carry it out.
Actually, an ordinance was just introduced (and passed unanimously at Public Safety committee) to modify this ridiculous ordinance. MPD was getting fed up with dismissing and refunding about 80 tickets a month for cars that were towed despite having, for example, clipped plates (obvious theft). Cops described it as victimizing people twice. And DPW admitted that it was unintentionally snagging people they hadn't meant to penalize.
ReplyDeleteA tidbit from the 1994 AG race.
ReplyDeleteAnd another, in which he got a break and wasn't charged.
ReplyDelete