Lake Worth City Council is moving forward with an ordinance that aims to give city parking enforcement the power to boot or tow cars parked illegally.
If a driver has more than three unpaid citations in the city of Lake Worth, they could get a boot on their car until they pay up.
Parking Operations Manager Larry Lightfoot said enforcement officers would only target vehicles parked illegally or in violation of parking enforcement.
"There are many cities in Florida that are doing this now, this is nothing new," said Lightfoot.
Lightfoot said there are at least 100 drivers in the city with three or more unpaid citations. He said one car has racked up nearly $5,000 in unpaid tickets.
"Some people just blatantly disrespect the law and in that case this will give us a little more teeth to add to the law so we can make sure that they are in compliance," added Lightfoot.
The ordinance will also allow parking enforcement officers to tow abandoned cars like many congesting G Street.
The city says fire rescue trucks avoid the street when responding to emergencies because of how difficult it is to get through.
"What we can do is put prior notices on the day before give them 24 hours notice, if that vehicle is parked after that 24th hour and we come back through here, we need that vehicle moved," said Lightfoot.
There was some push back from Commissioner Omari Hardy, who voted against the ordinance. He feels adding a boot to someone's car could have serious set backs for them financially if they cannot get to work and already have trouble paying their citations. There was some discussion about finding a way to consider financial hardships.
Two speakers spoke out against the ordinance and one person was in favor. People living in Lake Worth will get to weigh in on the subject in June when the ordinance is set for a second reading before a vote is taken to pass it.
