Abuse of Law

There are laws for the purpose of raising revenue to provide town services.  Separately, there are laws for regulating town resources, that carry with them fines and penalties.  It is an abuse of these regulatory laws when they are used for fundraising.  Over enforcement of these regulations is inevitable, and serves to destroy the relationships they are intended to maintain.  Parking regulations are intended to balance the needs of businesses and the needs of the population.  Over enforcement, driven by the town budget, upsets this balance and hurts businesses by driving away customers.  As suggested by Claire McGinnis, Parking Ticket hearings officer for the Town of Amherst, community action is required to prevent these regulatory laws from abusing the population for the purpose of short term town fundraising.  APT

As printed in the Town of Amherst 2006 Finance Committee Report:

http://www.amherstma.gov/PDFs/06_Finance_Committee_Report_Part_2_final.pdf
Or locally 06_Finance_Committee_Report_Part_2_final.pdf

 New revenues

The Town Manager recently proposed a list of revenue increases totaling over $800,000. However, the list includes some contributions that are still being discussed and some fee increases that are not officially set. The Town Manager suggested and the Finance Committee agrees that an estimate of $700,000 be used in balancing the Town’s budget, assuming that most but not all of the money will actually materialize. The largest amounts of money would come from increased ambulance fees ($100,000), increased parking ticket fines and hourly parking rates ($200,000), other miscellaneous fee increases ($76,000), and use of $285,000 in new revenue and re-appropriation of unspent capital project balances to free up capital plan money for operating budgets. These and other sources of funds would be shared among the municipal, library and school operating budgets.

You had better be careful where you leave your car if you need an ambulance!
 

As written in the Amherst Select Board minutes:

http://www.amherstma.gov/minutes/view_minutes.asp?id=265
Or locally View_minutes_id=265.pdf

 FY 06 Proposed Revenues
Agreed that the goal of the proposed revenues is a total of $700,000. and that the goal of additional parking revenues is a total of approximately $200,000.

Does this imply that we have a goal of inducing more people to park illegally to get this money?
 

As presented before the Town Meeting:

http://www.amherstma.gov/departments/Town_Clerk/town_meeting/warrantsandresults/110205_Warrant.htm
Or locally Town_Warrant_Nov_2005.pdf

Parking    (Select Board)
To see if the Town will amend the Town Bylaws, Article II, Handicapped Parking, by increasing the penalty in Section 2 from $100 to $200.

Does this increase help the Handicapped?  Who is being served by this fine doubling?

This Community Action web site was inspired by Claire McGinnis,
Hearings Officer for the Town of Amherst.

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