Atlanta approves 30 day parking enforcement moratorium www.privateofficer.com

ATLANTA GA May 5 2010 — A 30-day moratorium on parking enforcement in the city of Atlanta has the support of Mayor Kasim Reed. The mayor voiced his support following an event at Atlanta’s airport Tuesday.

Monday night, the Atlanta City Council approved the temporary ban after government officials were overwhelmed with complaints about how Milwaukee-based Duncan Solutions enforced parking laws.

City leaders said the ban could cost the city up to $500,000.

Last year, the City Council agreed to hire Duncan Solutions to install parking meters and write parking tickets. The city was promised nearly $6 million in return. According to the contract, the money would come from the meters and fines from parking tickets.

Reed said he is sitting on the fence about whether he approves of the contract.

“I’m not prepared to say whether I support it or not,” said Reed. “We are going to look at it and evaluate the contract with the company to make sure it is in the best interest of the city. It would be premature for me to comment on anything until we’ve had a chance to look at the situation.”

Some residents want the city to dump the contract, but Reed said that’s not as easy as it seems.

“It will be very difficult to break it without the city having to pay a substantial penalty,” he said.

Although the City Council approved the moratorium, city leaders caution motorists can’t park wherever they want without fear of a ticket. Only employees with Duncan Solutions are barred from writing tickets for the next 30 days, Atlanta police can still do so.