West Fargo takes more aggressive approach targeting drivers with unpaid parking tickets

(Fargo, ND) -- The City of West Fargo has adopted a new parking ordinance which is aimed in part at cracking down on drivers who don't pay their parking tickets.  

"Parking in general is a pretty big topic in just about every city that I've worked in, it's a much larger issue than people probably realize," said Police Chief Dennis Otterness. 

Otterness says the ordinance change includes adding late payment penalties to unpaid parking tickets. Under the new program, if a $20 fine is not paid after 10 days, a $5 late payment penalty will be added. If a ticket is delinquent longer than 30 days, the total payment due is $45. Also, vehicles with two or more tickets that go unpaid for more than 30 days are subject to a wheel immobilization device.  

"We had literally hundreds if not thousands of unpaid parking tickets that were manually filed by our support specialists here at the police department and we just really needed an upgrade," said Otterness. 

The new electronic citation program will allow vehicle owners to pay tickets online instead of by mail or in-person. The program will also allow individuals to submit an online appeal form within 10 days of receiving the parking citation. If the appeal is unsuccessful, they can also request a hearing in West Fargo Municipal Court.