Dormont Manager: Police Car's Worth of Tickets Dismissed in 2010

Dormont’s Parking Enemy Number One is a resident who racked up 35 expired metered tickets since 2010 and had all $525 worth excused.

Mayor Tom Lloyd dismissed none. Turns out, he’s not the only employee dismissing tickets.

Of the 11,513 parking tickets issued last year, better than 15 percent—1,790, enough to fill two cardboard filing boxes—were dismissed.

That’s $20,965 never collected by the borough.

“A police car,” Manager Gino Rizza said Thursday, as an example of what the tossed tickets might have bought.

Patch filed two right-to-know requests for ticketing information, the first seven months ago, , and the second Wednesday.

Because of apparent lax record keeping, the information couldn't be found until Rizza and acting Chief Richard Dwyer began looking into the matter recently, stemming in part from . Both deny, as has been claimed by some, that they went through employees' desks.

According to their tally, Lloyd dismissed 331 tickets last year, including 26 for state violations including parking on sidewalks, parking too close to an intersection, parking on private property, or parking in a handicapped spot.

Lloyd had that he didn’t dismiss such state violations, mentioning specifically blocking a driveway or fire hydrant, or parking on the sidewalk.

Asked about the 26 tickets, Lloyd said, “Well, (Rizza) better prove it … Why don’t you ask him about the money he’s spending?"—an apparent reference to some $20,000 in legal fees the borough has spent since Phil Ross appealed his demotion from chief to sergeant.

Lloyd said he keeps a list of tickets he dismisses, including the recipient’s name and the reason for the ticket.

So far this year, 735 of the 7,432 tickets issued have been dismissed, with Lloyd dismissing more than 100. The borough collected $58,345, but the dismissed tickets were worth $10,590.

dismissed a "few" that Dwyer could recall. “Which is perfectly fine. He has every right to do that," Dwyer said.

“The other ones are being dismissed by a vast array of borough employees who have been told they can do it,” Dwyer said. It's unclear where approval came from. “It’s just one of those ‘they said’ situations,” he said.

Dwyer and the borough’s solicitor contend neither the mayor nor any employee has authority to dismiss tickets.

Lloyd . He said have done it with the blessing of the district magistrate.

Dwyer and Rizza declined to identify the resident with 35 tickets or any other multiple offenders, saying the information isn’t public record. Various other repeat offenders included those who’ve had three, four or even 11 dismissed, Dwyer said.

Accountability is needed, he said.

“You don’t know who put the E (excused) on it,” he said. Lloyd puts a D on tickets he dismisses, Dwyer said.

While Dwyer and Rizza stressed they were not suggesting employees might have been pocketing money from tickets paid but marked as excused, Dwyer said the system should be improved.

It should start with ending the dismissal free-for-all, he said. The borough should also crack down on scofflaws—and there were more than 3,300 unpaid tickets last year, he said.

Right now, a person can get up to four tickets with little to fear but warning letters issued after 15 days of nonpayment. The fifth ticket gets them listed for the “boot”—an immobilizing device, Dwyer said. A couple hundred people are on the list.

Brentwood Borough, he said, converts unpaid local violations to state violations after 15 days of nonpayment. Dwyer said he’d like to see Dormont issue a warning letter after 15 days and convert to a state violation after 30 days.

“I think we could correct the process so it’s done properly from this point forward,” Dwyer said. “We’ll let people know once we figure it out.”

The borough’s meters readers issue the most tickets, Dwyer said. Police ticket primarily for parking on the street during sweeping and for complaints.

“The police don’t go out on tagging missions,” he said.