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Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia said that low-income parking violators should have to pay less than everyone else.
Boston, MA – A Boston city councilor with a history of racking up parking tickets has proposed imposing parking fines based on violators’ incomes.
During a weekly meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia said that paying fines associated with parking violations puts too large of a burden on low-income families.
“What happens when you’re struggling to juggle all your finances?” Mejia asked. “Then you realize that you are deciding whether or not you are going to pay a parking ticket or put food on the table.”
Mejia, who racked up $159 in her own parking fines before she came into office, said that she is not trying to eradicate fines for low-income parking offenders altogether.
“I don’t think people should just get away from paying their fee. I think we have to find ways to make it easier for people to pay that debt.”
Currently, Boston’s parking violators can expect to pay tickets ranging from $15 to $120, which can increase if they aren’t paid on time.
“I felt that pinch,” Mejia said of her own parking fines, which she paid off after she was elected, according to The Boston Globe.
She said that she believes establishing a sliding-fee scale based off of incomes verified by offenders’ taxes could work.
“When you have a $40 ticket, that could be food off the table for two or three days for a family,” she reiterated.
Based on reports from WBZ and The Boston Globe
