City Employees Owe $7,000 for Citations

Los Angeles municipal employees owe more than $7,000 for 36 delinquent parking tickets placed on city vehicles, officials said Friday.

Mayor James K. Hahn issued a directive to all 40,000 employees earlier this week telling them to pay city-issued parking tickets in a timely manner.

“It is imperative that employees using city vehicles for city-related business be accountable for their use and for promptly addressing any violations, such as parking tickets,” Hahn wrote. Employees, he said, are “responsible for the prompt payment of any fees and penalties.”

Department of Transportation officials said a check Friday of parking-ticket lists identified 36 delinquent tickets written on city vehicles. Because penalties are added when tickets are not paid, the value of the tickets totaled $7,000, officials said.

Wayne Tanda, general manager of the city’s transportation department, said a recent check found that three transportation employees had delinquent tickets.

The problem, he said, is that some notices are sent to the city General Services Department, rather than the offending employee, so it takes time to get that notice to the right person.

In addition, some tickets are issued to pool cars, making it difficult to track down which employee is responsible.