Probe Says Millions in Fines Still Unpaid

A city review sparked by allegations that the largest Ford dealer in the nation had more than $11,000 in unpaid parking tickets has found continued problems in the city’s parking program resulting in millions of dollars in uncollected funds.

City Controller Rick Tuttle, whose office completed the review of Galpin Motors’ parking tickets Thursday, said auditors found inadequate oversight and lax enforcement in the city’s office of parking management.

“We’re now at a point where we’ve seen enough,” Tuttle said. “We think it’s a great deal of revenue for the city . . . that’s not coming in.”

The problems in the city department are not new, Tuttle said. His office conducted audits in 1993 and 1994 that found similar deficiencies, including sloppy accounting procedures and inadequate monitoring of the city contractor that handles tickets.

The latest review was conducted after The Times reported in August 1996 that a parking systems coordinator had ordered Galpin Motors, owned by city police commissioner Bert Boeckmann, to pay $11,000 for 249 unpaid tickets. However, when the city’s office of parking management reviewed the order, it said Boeckmann owed just $411 for eight tickets.

The recent audit by the controller’s office showed that Boeckmann had paid the city $786 for 20 tickets as of January and that his Ford dealership still owes the city for about 14 tickets.

Although Boeckmann said Thursday he agrees with the controller’s office that the department needs a thorough overhaul, he disagreed that the car dealership owes the city any money for the previous tickets.

“Just last Friday, I said, ‘It’s not worth screwing with, let’s just send them a check,’ ” Boeckmann said, adding that he was told the dealership had an outstanding balance of $88.

As for other tickets, Boeckmann said: “I think they’re full of hot air.”

The review of the Galpin tickets, however, was an opportunity for the controller’s office to determine whether--in its view, at least--the parking management office had improved since the previous audits.

It hadn’t, Tuttle said.

The department was lax, the controller found, in enforcing unpaid parking tickets owed by fleet operators such as rental car agencies.

And it still is deficient in checking on Lockheed Information Management Services Co., the city contractor that processes tickets.

“Our review . . . revealed that OPM [the Office of Parking Management] has a pattern of making settlements and waiving penalties with these operators,” according to the report, which was sent to the mayor and council President John Ferraro.

Officials from the parking management office could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

“They claim to have made some changes,” Tuttle said. “We don’t see major changes.”

Tuttle is recommending that the mayor seek an independent operational and management review of the program.

“It’s time for someone to go in there and be the tough guy,” said Tim Lynch, deputy city controller. “There’s something not working right there.”

Auditors were particularly distressed by a lack of timely reports and information from the parking office.

A request for the total amount owed to the city still has not been received by the controller’s office, Tuttle said.

In its 1993 audit, Tuttle’s office found that the city was owed $280 million in unpaid parking citations. On Thursday, Tuttle said he believes that at least that much remains uncollected.