Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 25, 1994 TAG: 9411250029
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The personal property tax parking ticket made its debut Nov. 1. In the three weeks since, police have issued 831 of the $25 tickets that also force car owners to buy a $20 decal and pay any overdue tax they owe.
Ultimately, those tickets could add more than $200,000 to general funds of Roanoke-area governments. Most of it will be in the city.
The program has been such a success that the city is facing a shortage of personal property tax decals and has ordered another batch. Bill forms used to calculate tax owed also are in short supply and have been reordered.
During the first week of ticketing, affected car owners crowded into the commissioner of revenue's office, with the line sometimes spilling into the hall. Usually that happens only in early June, as car owners who haven't paid their tax by mail descend upon City Hall.
"I don't know that I anticipated the number of tickets being written would be so high in this short of a time," said Commissioner of Revenue Marsha Compton Fielder. "I'm excited that the city as a whole - the commissioner of revenue, the city treasurer's office and the Police Department - are making sure that everybody is paying a fair share.
"It's almost getting to the point where you can run, but you can't hide anymore," she said.
The revenue is money that should have been paid to the city but was not. In that sense, it helps prevent potential tax increases that could result from budget shortfalls and is a plus for people who do pay their taxes.
But taxpayers aren't the only beneficiaries. One police officer also stands to cash in.
The idea was the brainchild of Officer Ronnie Cassell, said Michelle Bono, a spokeswoman for the city. Cassell, who did not return phone calls, may be eligible for an award of up to $2,000 next year.
The city has a program that rewards employees for money-saving suggestions - up to 10 percent of the first year's savings, to a maximum of $2,000. Based on the first few weeks' gleanings, Cassell already has met the maximum, although he won't get the money until a year from now.
There are plenty of violators out there. State Department of Motor Vehicle records in July listed 70,805 cars registered in the city. But as of that time, 67,037 decals had been sold, a difference of 3,768 cars and trucks. The gap is even wider in Roanoke County.
The personal property tax is a major revenue source for the city, bringing in more than any other levy except real estate taxes. This year, it is expected to add $15million to the city's general fund.
City Council on Oct. 10 approved a city code change that allowed police officers to issue the tickets. Before then, officers could ticket cars without decals only when they caught drivers with the cars.
The tickets already were being issued in Salem and Roanoke County. County officers wrote 459 personal property tax parking tickets from February to July.
If the $25 fine goes unpaid, the car owner is summoned to court and ordered to pay the fine, tax and court costs - plus $20 for the city decal.
Some of the ticketed car owners are people the commissioner or revenue already has identified and billed for the tax. But they often ignore the bills, Fielder said.
"Evidently, the message has never been perceived [before] as that big a deal whether or not they had a decal," she said.
by CNB