Cobleskill to waive late fees on parking fines

12/11/2019

By Jim Poole

There’s good news for anyone who has a delinquent parking ticket in the Village of Cobleskill.
Village board members last Tuesday agreed to waive late fees if people pay the basic fine.
Trustees Tuesday decided to include only 2018 and 2019 as the no-late-fee years. Mayor Becky Stanton-Terk later added 2016 and 2017.
People have until January 22 to pay the late tickets.
The move to waive the penalties came as a suggestion from Senior Court Clerk Carin Fletcher.
“[The late tickets] are always going to be hanging there, and people know they’re supposed to pay the extra,” Ms. Fletcher told trustees.
“Why not forget the extra?”
Most ticket fees––typically, for overnight parking on a street––are $50. Parking in handicapped spot brings a $100 ticket.
Offenders have 30 days to pay a ticket. If it goes unpaid, an extra fee of $35 is assessed; after another month, there’s an additional $50. Each additional month may carry another $50 fee, but Ms. Fletcher and village officials were unsure about that.
Mayor Stanton-Terk and Clerk-Treasurer Sheila Wilday estimated that there are about 80 unpaid tickets over the four years.
“I think it’s a good offer,” Ms. Fletcher said. “It gives them an incentive to pay. We’re trying to make this as painless as possible.
“And potentially, the village can collect more money.”
Although income from the 80 tickets isn’t a small fortune, trustees liked the idea of giving offenders a break.
“Relieving the late fees costs us nothing,” Trustee Howard Burt said.
Ms. Wilday is sending letters to the ticket-holders to advise them of the village’s offer.