The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, September 18, 1979-Page 3
FINES BRING IN $1 MILLION ANNUA LL Y
P r~l^1 q Y AJ.L AJ A
Daily Photo CYRENA CHANG
Tourist trap
The weekend is-approaching, and Mom and Dad are coming up "to
see your room." You're bummed, but since they're paying your way,
you set up some activities for them, including a walk through the Diag,
dinner at the Pretzel. Bell, anda visit to the State Street Barbershop.
That's right, and it's not to get your locks trimmed 'either. If you don't
know by now, the State Street Barbershop is the final resting place
of the helmet and jersey of University football and baseball great,
Rick Leach. But how did it get there, inquires your drooling dad. Rick
who? asks Mom. You always liked Mom. Well, it appears as though
that's where Rick got his hair cut during his four-year tenure at the
University. "A lot of people ask me if it's really his," said Bill
Stolberg, owner and operator of the barbershop, who added that he
has been offered up to $150 for the gridiron garb. "I'll never give it
up;" says Stolberg. Stolberg said Leach usually got "a typical wash
and cut. Layered. And never too short." To calm any recent frenzy
about Rick's hair, Stolberg stated that Leach's hair'was-in "good"
condition. But how did Stoberg get Othe Ikach momentos "I just
asked for it, and he gave it to me." Pretty generous of the 'ole quarter-
'back.
A SEED grows in A 2
One of the newest student organizations to form on campus is
Students for Employment and Economic Democracy .(SEED). The
labor-oriented group has scheduled a conference in early January
called "Labor in the '80s: Plight or Prosperity." Dedicated to the
proposition that all conferences are ameliorated by well-known in-
dividuals, SEED has firm cohmitments from William Wimpisinger,
President of the Machinest Union and chairman of the national
movement to Draft Kennedy, and Michael Harrington, chairman of
the Democratic Society Organizing Committee, to speak. SEED's first
meeting is scheduled for tonight at 7:30 p.m., at Guild House.
.
September hash bash
Between seven and 10,000 devoted dope smokers gathered Sunday
and created their own hash bash at the Lower Huron Metropark,
located between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Sponsored by the diehard
"United Marijuana Smokers of Michigan", the event went as planned
until area police showed up and "peacefully" dispersed the crowd,
arresting eight dope smokers along the way. "We had no idea it would
be that big,"'said Huron Township's Sergeant James, who dispatched
the cruisers to the party. "Once people realize that we weren't kid-
ding, it went along smoothly from then on."
Happenings
FILMS
Cinema Guild-The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 7 p.m. only, Night of the
* Hunter, 8 p.m. only, Old Arch Auditorium.
Ann Arbor Film Co-op-In the Realm of the Senses, 7, 9 p.m., Aud.
A, Angell Hall.
Cinema II - Way Down East, 7,9:15, Aud. 3, MLB.
SPEAKERS
"COMPUTING Center-James Bodwin to lecture on the new Algol
W. compiler, 7:30-9 p.m., Room 3016 Frieze Bldg.
Bio-Engineering Program-Joachim F. Sieger, "Computer
Tomography," 4-5 p.m., 1042 East Engineering.
"The Bilingual Vocabularies and Hebrew Lexicography," Mitchell
Dahood, 2 p.m., Room 3050 Frieze Bldg.'
"Past and Present Tenant Struggle in Ann Arbor," Patricia Theiler,
12 p.m., International Center, 603 E. Madison.
MEETINGS
Arts Chorale--Mass meeting, old and new members welcome, 3-5
p.m., Aud. A, Angell Hall.
Foreign Service Seminar-sponsored by Undergraduate Political
Science Department, 7 p.m., 2029 Angell Hall.
Go Club-7 p.m., 2050 Frieze.
Michigan Daily Dorm meetings-East Quad, Greene Lounge;
Markeley, Angela Davis lounge, 7-8 p.m.
MISCELLANEOUS
Informal tea-with the Dean of LSA, Billy Frye, 3:30 p.m., Student
Counseling Office-students and faculty welcome.
Art Exhibit-Two related exhibits of Canadian Inuit -Eskimo)
art-Sept. 16-Oct. 14, U. of M. Museum of Art.
Parkin
By AMY DIAMOND
If something is really consistent in
Ann Arbor, it's the rate at which
parking tickets are handed out. In fact,
parking tickets are among the city's
few million-dollar activities.
The average Ann Arbor driver who
walks out to his or her car and finds one
of those blue and white parking tickets
flapping on the windshield may only
view it as a minor nuisance. But to the
people who enforce the parking laws,
it's serious business.
ACCORDING TO John Bentley, Ann
Arbor City Treasurer, the number of
parking tickets which are paid
probably make up one of the city's
largest sources of revenue.
"Classifying parking tickets as an in-
dividual item makes it one of the
highest revenues our city has, because
we receive close to $1 million a year in
payments and that's 82 per cent of the
total tickets issued a year," said Ben-
tley.
In fact, revenues were up 5.4 per cent
over last year without a rate increase.
This was due to both increased demand
for parking spaces and better enfor-
cement efforts, resulting in more
drivers paying the parking meters in-
stead of chancing a parking ticket, ac-
cording to the city's 1978-79 annual
fiscal report.
THE 12 MAIN enforcers who hand out
parking tickets spend their days riding
through Ann Arbor in yellow and green
Pintos surveying city and University
parking spaces for violators.
One of the closely-watched areas en-
compasses the approximately 7,000
parking spaces the University provides
in and around its campus. According to
Cy Hughes, manager of the "Pinto
Parking Brigade", in the city's Streets,
Traffic and Parking Department, every
month the enforcers give out at least
one ticket for every University parking
space.
In August, 4,437 tickets were issued
on campus, 10,472 throughout the city
and 1,085 in the parking system. Hughes
maintained that these figures stay
fairly constant during the year.
HE ADDED THAT numerous tickets
help to create parking space turnover.
"The issuance of tickets helps provide
parking turnover and this makes
parking more available to everyone
which is the key feature of our
program," said Hughes.
But even though the city issues more
than 20,000 tickets a month, many local
citizens and students often disregard
them by not paying the fines - at least
not right away.
"I've received about 30 parking
tickets since I brought my car to Ann
Arbor and I've only paid 10 of them,
said Randy, a student who asked that
his last name not be printed.
RANDY SAID he often gets
frustrated by the tickets and said he
doesn't plan on paying them unless his
car is towed away. "You can get away
with a lot. It's really ridiculous, I mean,
just because they (the enforcement at-
tendants) have a boring job, they feel
the need to take out their aggressions
on the students."
Bentley said the discrepant view
between the motorists and the enfor-
cers revolves around the fact that the
motorist is able to get nine parking
tickets before any pressure or action is
brought by the city to bring in
delinquent fines.
"The City Council set up the ar-
bitrary number of 10 tickets for no par-
ticular reason. But once the driver
receives that tenth ticket, things start
to really come down;" said Bentley.
BUT HOW is the city able to make $1
million a year on parking ticket
revenue if people aren't paying their
fines?
Bentley revealed that a whopping 82
per cent of the tickets issued per year
are paid and only 16 to18 per cent of the
tickets remain unpaid.
The city treasurer estimated that the
city has between $1 to $2 million worth
of unpaid tickets. The reason for this
high figure is two-fold, he said.
THE TICKETS which remain unpaid
are calculated for several years instead
of just one and the longer a ticket sits in
police files without being paid, ad-
ditional late fees are imposed.
Bentley explained, "Among the 82
per cent who pay their fines are those
that we tow. These people are often the
ones with 10 to 20 outstanding tickets
and usually add up to a good $150 in
fines." Towing usually costs $25 per
vehicle.
The city is able to clamp down on
these violators with 10 or more tickets
because Hughes' forces include two
spotters whose sole job is to search for
g ticket
cars with 10 or more outstanding
tickets.
THESE SPOTTERS are on
physically limited duty and not on
workmens' compensation. "We have
CETA (Comprehensive Employment
Training Act) people as spotters but we
tempted to outsmart the parking atten-
dants. One trick they employ is to put
an old ticket on the windshield of the
car before leaving it so the enforcer will
think the car has already been issued a
ticket.
However, Hughes said he urges his
Daily Photo CYRENA CHANG
A PARKING ticket stuck in the window wiper of this car by the LSA Building
waits to surprise an unsuspecting motorist. This is just one of many ticketed
vehicles parked around Ann Arbor.
may try to hire twopermanent people,"
said Hughes.
Once the cars are located by the
"spotter" which usually happens when
the car has been cited for another
parking or moving violation, the cars
are either towed away and kept until all
the tickets have been paid, or they are
immobilized by a device called the
"Denver boot."
The Denver boot is a lock that is
placed on the axle of the car which
prevents the wheels on the car from
moving. Ann Arbor has four of these
devices to use in its battle against
parking violators.
STEVE, WHO also didn't want his
last name used, was a victim of the
"Denver boot." The spotter booted his
car because he had 15 unpaid parking
tickets. Steve had to dish out $139 to get
the boot off his car.
However, according to Paul, a
graduate student at the University, the
10-ticket towing policy is absurd and
useless. "I've got out-of-state plates on
my car and I don't think they will ever
catch me, especially since everyone
just changed the license plates on their
cars," explained Paul, who currently
has twelve outstanding tickets.
But Hughes said, between the towing
and the "Denver boot," the ticket colec-
tion problem is finally showing some
positive signs and the "scoffers," (a
term he uses to refer to the violators),
are becoming more aware of the legal
end of the parking situation in Ann Ar-
bor.
IN MARCH, 168 cars with 10 or more
outstanding tickets were towed or
booted, grossing more than $23,000 for
the city. A year ago in March, only 46
vehicles were towed, totalling $6,000 in
revenue.
In addition, Hughes said, "changing
the license plates isn't going to free
people from paying their tickets
because we employ a cross
registration, cross-checking process
with other Secretary of State offices.
The out-of-state violators are not home
attendants to watch out for' the tricks
and to carefully read the date on the
ticket and issue a second violation if the
situation warrants it.
One motorist explained, "I know that
these guys giving the tickets are pretty
smart, so if I'm going to park
somewhere, I look to see if the area has
already been ticketed because if there
are tickets on some of the cars, it
probably means they won't be back to
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battle continues
issue citations to that particular area
for a while."
EVEN IF the drivers' tricks don't,
work, the motorists have the option of
fighting a parking ticket without going
through an official court proceeding,
The Ann Arbor Parking Violations
Department uses a referee service for
violators who wish to argue their cases.
Both Bentley and Hughes said the $1
million received each year in parking
ticket revenue is filtered into the city's
general fund, and the only money made
by their respective departments is the
money in the meters and the permits
bought for the parking structures,',
around town.
A NEW state law which went into ef-
feet in August may be just the answer -
for the enforcers. It allows the city to
ask the Attorney General's office to,..
take away the motorist's license if the;
ticket is left unpaid. The parking ticket.
will now be considered a civil
misdemeanor instead of a criminal in-
fraction.
City Attorney Bruce Laidlaw said it's
still too early to tell how the new or-
dinance is working, but that the new
parking ordinance is being enforced. A
warning is being pasted on each ticket
warning the motorist that failure to
respond to the citation will result in the
suspension of the owner's driver's
license.
Laidlaw explained that after the ;
warning, a certain "grace period" is
allowed and then letters will be sent to
the Secretary of State offices. It is themn
up to the secretary of state to revoke
the licenses. He added that it will still
be more difficult to catch out-of-state
offenders.
:kl%
CiRnemaSET
PRESENTS
44~cr
19
WAY DOWN EAST
(D.W. GRIFFITH, 1920)
LILLIAN GISH stars as a woman who, having committed one "unfortunate
sexual error," resulting in an extra-marital pregnancy, finds love and re-
demptive morality. The genius of Griffith and the phenomenal cinematic
artistry of Gish combine to create a sensitive study which rises above its
predictable melodramatic foundation. One of the masterpieces of America's
Golden Age of Silent Film. Plus: A HOUSE DIVIDED (Alice Guy Blache, 1913,
13 min.) A rediscovered work by cinema's first woman director/producer,
who also owed her own productior company, SOLAX. (entire show 123 min)
Modern Languages Bldg-Aud 3
FRI: GIRLFRIENDS
Y4
Two Public Lectures
by
Prof. Bernard i'/sserstlei
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
TUESDA Y, SEPTEMBER 18
4:00 PM-2412 Mason Hall:
"THE ALLIES AND THE HOLOCAUST"
Sponsor: HISTORY DEPARTMENT
free by any means."
But, Bentley said he feels the process 8:00 PM-1429 Hill Street:
of finding the out-of-state violators will "WAR AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST:
be somewhat slowed down because of MYTHS AND REALITIES"
the recent replacement of license Sponsor: HILLEL FOUNDATION
plates.
BUT A NUMBER of local citizens,
have cited ways in which they've at-
H ur
, Senior Portrait Taken Now
LSAT,
and
GMAT