Dormont Looking Into Ticket Dismissals By Mayor
Council is looking into how many tickets are being dismissed. The mayor said he has reasons for doing so.
For years, Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd has been dismissing parking tickets issued by borough police.
No one’s sure how many, or how much revenue the borough may have lost, but some on council want to put a stop to it.
“The attitude out there is: If you know somebody, or are buddy-buddy, you get it dismissed,” Councilwoman Laurie Malka said at Monday’s legislative and finance committee meeting.
While council doesn’t control the mayor, “we set policy,” she said.
The borough doesn’t want to become a police state, she said, but parking policies need to be enforced.
She wants to find out how many tickets are being dismissed and how much money is involved. And there’s a concern that police may not be issuing tickets because they know Lloyd may dismiss them, she said.
Lloyd dismissed the concern.
“I think that all sounds pretty bogus to me,” he said Thursday.
Lloyd said he has the "opportunity" to dismiss tickets.
He didn’t have a number, but said, “There is obviously more than a couple, but they are dismissed certainly for what I think are good reasons.”
For example, he said, he dismissed tickets issued in November to people who were ticketed for parking during street sweeping.
The sweeper was down on the day it was supposed to make its run and people were ticketed later, he said.
“It doesn’t seem fair to tag somebody if we can’t do what we’re supposed to do on that particular day,” he said.
Lloyd said he didn’t believe dismissing tickets results in police being less likely to issue them.
“The police do a good job,” he said.
“I think the finance and legal committee would do better to be more aware of the budget and the surplus,” he said.
“I can almost bet who this is coming from and she certainly needs to do a better job as the finance chair,” Lloyd said.
Malka said she's optimistic about the borough's fiscally conservative approach.
"When the mayor refers to a 'surplus' though, he needs to realize that this does not exist in municipal government, especially in an older community that has millions of dollars of infrastructure repairs that are needed," she said. "By overseeing and eliminating unnecessary spending in the past year, we are able to enter 2011 with working capital that will be put toward streets, sewers and other necessary capital improvements."
Chief Phil Ross didn’t know how many tickets were being dismissed, but said he didn’t think it was a significant amount.
“I guess it’s a two-edged sword. It could be somewhat of a public relations tool, if someone has a legitimate reason,” such as a person being on vacation and unable to move his or her car, he said.
The issue has become a concern because someone has been parking a tractor-trailer in the Dormont Park lot, despite a sign saying no trucks.
Borough Manager Gino Rizza asked police to ticket the rig, according to emails involving Rizza, Lloyd and council.
Lloyd, in an email to Rizza, told him it wasn’t his job to tell police to issue tickets and noted that the ticket had been dismissed.
Jill Harvey
2:22 pm on Friday, January 28, 2011
The little power struggles between the current council and the mayor are getting really old. I, for one, am looking forward to the next election.
dormonter
3:24 pm on Saturday, January 29, 2011
Amen! Council would likely prefer to have residents with legitimate concerns about a ticket take a day off work and go to the magistrate, pay the police to go to a hearing? For a $25 ticket? Ridiculous. I once got a ticket for parking too close to an intersection, one night when there was NO other parking near my house. And it was shortly after the murder of the woman at the bookstore on Potomac. I asked the former Chief if they would please forgive this one...and they did. It is kindness and respect shown for the citizens in little things like this that makes Dormont a great place to live. And believe me, I've also paid my share of parking tickets for street sweeping days!
amy bisignani
9:55 am on Saturday, January 29, 2011
This is a political witch hunt because the mayor has been supporting the police and the fire department during the recent budget cuts. Dan, maybe you should ask the council members and the borough manager how many tickets they have had and their family members have had dismissed or have not paid. I bet you will be surprised what you will find out. Maybe they should not throw stones since they live in glass houses!
watchdog
1:58 pm on Saturday, January 29, 2011
Let me tell you what this is stemming from. And these are facts! Mayor Loyd gives a citizen permission to park his rig over the weekend in the unused pool parking lot. The overbearing boro manager, Gino Rizza, sees the truck there Monday morning and gets a case of the a** and calls the police down and orders them to ticket the truck. The police try to tell him that permission has been given by the mayor but he doesn't care. Knowing that Gino can't perform this function the police go ahead and comply with his demands all the while laughing. The Mayor then dismisses the ticket and Gino can't handle it because he's not a police officer and it's out of his hands so he runs to council and here we are. What is so funny about this is last year while keystone Oaks was playing Seton in football at the Dormont stadium rizza illegally parked his car on Kelton Ave right where the police were crossing people. They walked over gave him a ticket. The next day he had the ticket dissmissed. offical business is not on a Friday night watching a family member play football. Your right Amy, Rizza and several members of Council have had tickets dismissed since they been with the boro in thier current capicity. Facts! Just ask them at the next council meeting and see what they say. They say yes they are telling the truth. They say no, thier lying and I will be at the next meeting with the ticket numbers, locations, issueing officer and the date it was dissmissed. These are facts!
dormont life time resident
10:01 pm on Saturday, January 29, 2011
what a joke. park correctly or pay up. would love to know the total money amount our mayor feels like dismissing. maybe he could just be real nice and pay the fines. it's been a joke for years and years, go see the mayor and he'll make the ticket disappear. i feel it is an insult to our police trying to just do thier jobs and the mayor pulls his power play. and if the police are laughing about the jobs they are to do maybe it is time for a new job. now lets see if we can get the tax collector to collect all the taxes due. so watchdog and all your FACTS let us know how much money the mayor is dismissing. and while your at it, give us the FACTS of how much money in unpaid taxes, the tax collector dosen't collect. gee maybe dormont wouldn't be the slum area it is becoming.
dormonter
3:26 pm on Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thanks for giving us the whole story. Silly argument. The mayor gives a guy a break to park in an area that is virtually unused this time of year and the boro mgr and council have a hissy fit. Case closed.
watchdog
3:13 pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011
parking tickets are not issued to make money they are issued to deter illegal parking. the intent is not a fund raiser for the boro. As far as unpaid taxes, go ask your tax collector that was voted in by the citizens. I suspect he'll be voted out next time just like the other members of councel that are up for election.
Linden Martinez
4:13 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
I think the fact that you can go to Mayor Lloyd with a legitimate concern and actually have him act on it is heart warming, quaint, and in the old fashioned tradition of Mayor Moorland. I fear the boro council, with notable exceptions, are just using their positions as a spring board to higher asperations. Mayor Lloyd will get my vote again next election. Not all our incumbants will get the same.
watching
4:32 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
This is not about the mayor not being allowed to dismiss tickets-surely the borough does not want residents to take off work and pay an officer to go to the magistrate to take care of a ticket; however it seems that the mayor is costing the borough a lot of money by dismissing tickets. I drive past the pool and I see the NO TRUCKS sign, so that truck should be ticketed, and the mayor should not be able to dismiss it. That lot will get torn up quickly if he allows trucks to park there, so is he willing to pay for the repaving when needed? Its unnecessary abuse the lot takes. Everyone has a legit reason to get out of a ticket here and there I'm sure...but the town knows its a joke when you get a ticket, just take it to the mayor and have him fix it? Yea, that wont deter illegial parking. What will is enforcement that stands, and people will start parking legally. Tickets are to deter illegial parking AND bring in money to the borough.
Bryan
11:49 am on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
As has been stated on here already, parking tickets should not be considered a source of income or fundraising for the borough. This kind of political thinking is why local boroughs in PA can not have red light cameras or the police use radar. You get people in power like Dormont's current council and they decide to use the enforcment of laws as a way to fundraise! The facts about this have already been stated, this was never an issue it became one because the borough manager did not get his way. And yes plenty of the current council members have had tickets excused and so has the borough manager. Another issue that should be mentioned is that the borough HAS money approx. a million dollar surplus is the word thats going around. Why? Why do cuts get made to public safety with that kind of money sitting around? We all need to start going to the council meetings and ask the tough questions. Time for the members of this council to stop fighting with each other, stop fighting with the mayor and listen to the citizens! Oh and by the way the mayor supports the police and fire departments through the budget cuts because he knows whats right! He also respects the excellant job the police and fire department always do!
watchdog
6:31 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
Let's see Council members want an end to dismissing tickets because it's a loss of revenue. Following that theory then one would think that all members of council would pay their tickets. Think again. My sources tell me that a certain member of council just had a $75 dollar handicap parking ticket dismissed. If you want to be in the politcal spot light and be a big fish in the small pond expect to be scrutinized. Another question. Are elected members of council allowed to use thier position for self gain? No, they sign ethic forms every year for that reason and must claim income made. Anyone wonerering where this is going? I know one person on council that might be concerned!
Becca W.
5:22 pm on Friday, February 18, 2011
Though I have not formed an opinion yet, I feel as though I do not have all the facts and fully understand the dynamics between the borough entities, I do have a comment. I attended the meeting when this topic was discussed. Additional information regarding the semi-truck parked illegally was this; citizens were calling in complaints about the truck because it had been parking in the same spot for over a month. The hill adjacent to the parking lot is where the young people go to sledride, it was stated that this practice has been a tradition. Because of the semi, the hill could not be used, because he parked at the bottom. Council members brought this fact up in the meeting and asked why the truck has not been ticketed or towed? The mayor responded by stating that he believed the 'No Truck' sign is not the right sign and that a 'No Truck Overnight' or 'No Trucks, except Deliveries' sign should be there. He also stated that the truck drivers fiance is his next door neighbor and he has no where else to park. Later, a few council members stated that it is not about the revunue of tickets, it is about safety. An example given was watching children walk in the streets, because cars were parked on the sidewalks. In regards to comment by Dormont Life Time Resident, the exact amount of unpaid taxes was also given at this meeting. Ms.Lusardi stated this in the opening minutes. Sorry, I didn't write the number down. Someone else that was at the meeting may have it for you.
LTDR
6:10 pm on Sunday, February 20, 2011
Long time Dormont Resident,
I pose the following questions to our Dormont residents:
1. If your "neighbor" came to you and asked to park her friend’s commercial eighteen wheel rig on your property over the weekend. Would you let her? Before you answer, you do not know the contents of the rig (chemicals or hazardous materials) or the tonnage of the rig. For the same reason we do not let “rigs” on our street should be the same reason not to allow them in our parking lots, the damage caused by there weight will lay hidden and a few years later the asphalt crumbles . Also, you could get a ticket for a parking violation. Would you let her? What if hazardous chemicals leaked from the rig? Who would be responsible to cover the cost of the clean-up or repaving? Thank goodness this did not happen, but it could have! The residents of Dormont deserve better decisions from out elected officals!
Annoyed With Stupidity
2:41 am on Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Trucks aside, the reason so many of us go to the Mayor to get tickets dismissed is that most of the time tickets are not being handed out with just consistency and it is fruitless to fight the ticket any other way. For instance, there are driveways that are not legal driveways, i.e. when the sidewalks were redone they were poured as driveways but were not designated as such with the proper paint and have never been used as driveways (because not even a Mini could fit down the "driveway") but when people living on the street (but not in the home the "driveway" belongs to) cannot get a prime parking spot (the spot blocking the "driveway") they call the police and report that someone is blocking a driveway, thus getting others an unjustified ticket. Another huge piece of BS is that there is no opposite side of the street parking but people who are too lazy or inept to put their car in their driveway when the street is full will park half on the sidewalk (for extended periods of time, even overnight) but they are only selectively ticketed, even when them being parked that way does not allow someone parked legally to maneuver out of their parking spot.
LTDR
1:28 am on Saturday, August 6, 2011
Our Mayor’s campaign slogan - Earning your support, one ticket at a time! Ask to see the book he records these ticket waivers and uses later for political favors! Another black eye for our community!
dormont backdoor
8:50 am on Saturday, August 6, 2011
...and the tax collector's slogan should be....
Ed M
7:27 am on Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Ya know, if the council really wanted to help subsidize the budget they would have the police monitor people going the wrong way on Annex between Arkansas and McNeilly, monitor people making illegal right hand turns from Belplain to Tennessee and people making illegal left turns from and street to Scott! There are thousands of dollars in fines to be made!