LOS ANGELES : Canoga Park Firm Leads in Unpaid Parking Fines
The Los Angeles controller’s office Thursday released a list of 100 companies and individuals who owe the city the greatest amounts in parking fines as of last month--with a Canoga Park sign company well ahead of the pack with $218,313 in fines.
Calico Sign Co., which parks trailers on city streets advertising new apartment and condominium developments, had 2,376 unpaid citations, more than twice as many as the second-place company on the list. The city attorney’s office has been seeking to recover the money from Calico in court.
A woman who answered the phone at the firm refused to comment.
Officials noted that not all on the list are scofflaws. Along with sign companies, the bulk of the list was made up of rental car firms, which frequently transfer liability to those who rent the cars.
Several individuals appear on the top 100. But parking administrator Bob Yates said some of them sell their cars after racking up numerous tickets, making it difficult to confirm who is responsible.
In all, the city has about 5 million unpaid parking tickets, representing more than $280 million in uncollected fines. A widely supported plan to use private lawyers to sue scofflaws with more than $400 in tickets has been bogged down in the city bureaucracy.
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