KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After years of benign neglect by the city, Knoxville City Council is taking steps to raise parking fees and crack down on scofflaws.
Council on Tuesday approved on first reading changes to city parking ordinances that increase parking meter violations from $11 to $25 per ticket.
They're also empowering Public Building Authority officers, who issue parking tickets on the street, to call in a tow truck if someone is overstaying their welcome or parking illegally. Right now that duty falls by ordinance to Knoxville Police Department, a task officers have to balance with answering calls for service.
The measures must pass second reading at the next council meeting before they are enacted.
WBIR reporting this year revealed the city court had accrued $4.5 million in unpaid tickets -- with more than 400,000 outstanding tickets dating back a decade.
Data requests by 10News showed the worst offender owed $13,280 in unpaid tickets and fines, and the 10 worst offenders over the past decade owed close to $80,000 just among themselves.
Some councilmembers were reluctant to raise rates, arguing its punitive. Councilman Charles Thomas said he feared it would give Knoxville a bad reputation, considering the number of out-of-towners who come to visit.
"Most people that get a parking ticket, it’s a mistake. They’re not trying to game the system," Thomas said.
Councilman Andrew Roberto, however, said that's exactly what some vehicle owners are doing -- over and over. The city needs to do a better job about enforcement, he said.
"How do we make sure that we don't end up in this position again where people are able to game the system?" he said.
Roberto added a moment later: "We have to address this. We cannot have people parking in this way and amassing huge amounts of fines when the vast majority of folks are obeying the law."
Councilman Lynne Fugate said fines are meant to be a deterrent to bad behavior.
"A deterrent is not a deterrent if you don't collect it," she said.
The city's proposed new ticket rates remain lower than other major cities in Tennessee, city staff said.
The measure to raise parking ticket fees passed 6-2 with Thomas and Amelia Parker voting no.
City officials noted the vast majority of parking downtown is available in parking garages, many of which are free after 6 p.m. weekdays and free on weekends. There's also free parking under Interstate 40 on the north side of downtown at West Magnolia Avenue.
Street meters are meant to accommodate short-term parking only.
Parking tickets are adjudicated through city court.
Tyler Caviness, elected municipal judge in 2023, has pledged to improve the ticket process.
Since Caviness started pressing for improvements, Mayor Indya Kincannon said, more than 1,600 unpaid tickets have been cleared, bringing in nearly $30,000.
Cheryl Ball, the city's chief policy officer, offered one glaring reason to councilmembers that ticket collections fell so far behind over the years. Each ticket much be hand-processed, she said. They can't be processed automatically.
Ball said staff is working on new technology that will speed it up and make it more efficient to move tickets through.
"It is so time-consuming the steps they have to take to process each citation," she said.
Besides raising parking fees, City Council also is making it easier for PBA officers to order a tow -- for repeat offenders or drivers parked illegally on the street. The measure passed on first reading with no objection and no comment.
This fall the city court sent out letters to people whose vehicles had gotten two or more tickets. Under city code, the city can tow your car if your vehicle has two or more delinquent parking tickets.
"This will be the only notice allowing you the opportunity to contact this Court and resolve your outstanding parking citations before your vehicle is placed on an immediate tow list," the letter states in bold.
In the past, KPD hasn't been enthused about pulling officers aside to go to the spot where a vehicle must be towed, initiate the tow and stay until it's done. Under the new ordinance, KPD officers can focus more on what they think are priorities such as responding to calls for service while PBA officers, who already see chronic vehicle violators routinely, can call in a tow and impoundment.
The court letter states there are two options to avoid having a vehicle towed for unpaid parking tickets. The recipient can pay a balance in full. Or, the court is open to a payment plan so long as the vehicle owner honors it.
In response to records requests this year by WBIR, the city revealed the worst scofflaws by license plate number. The worst offender drove -- or may still drive -- a vehicle with plate number 7N87U8.
Other top offenders, owing thousands and thousands of dollars, include plate numbers 8H86D8, BHS4745 and 966WW5.
Gay Street downtown and White Avenue in Fort Sanders are metered locations where scofflaws rack up the most tickets, city data shows.