New York Post Online Edition: news: "September 21, 2003 -- THE city will soon roll out hand-held computers for issuing parking summonses, closing loopholes that have allowed motorists to get out of paying more than a million handwritten tickets each year.
The computers, which scan an illegally parked car's registration sticker and then print the summons, could be on city streets by next month.
Police Chief Michael Scagnelli told The Post traffic enforcement agents in northern Queens would be the first to be equipped.
By mid-February, all 19 parking-enforcement districts will be online, he said.
The Finance Department collected $429 million revenue in parking fines last year, according to the Mayor's Management Report, but millions more were lost because of problems with tickets, including mistakes and illegible writing.
Such errors will not occur with the scanners, officials said.
'The significant advantage is that we will go from a 13 percent error rate to a less than 1 percent error rate,' Scagnelli said.
The scanners will cost $2,100 apiece, but by some estimates the city could reap nearly $17 million a year in extra fines.
'This is about efficiency and accuracy,' said Finance Commissioner Martha Stark.
Officials have been wary of changing the system after the municipal corruption scandal of 1986, when a company called Citisource won a contract to supply computers. The firm turned out to be a scam."
The computers, which scan an illegally parked car's registration sticker and then print the summons, could be on city streets by next month.
Police Chief Michael Scagnelli told The Post traffic enforcement agents in northern Queens would be the first to be equipped.
By mid-February, all 19 parking-enforcement districts will be online, he said.
The Finance Department collected $429 million revenue in parking fines last year, according to the Mayor's Management Report, but millions more were lost because of problems with tickets, including mistakes and illegible writing.
Such errors will not occur with the scanners, officials said.
'The significant advantage is that we will go from a 13 percent error rate to a less than 1 percent error rate,' Scagnelli said.
The scanners will cost $2,100 apiece, but by some estimates the city could reap nearly $17 million a year in extra fines.
'This is about efficiency and accuracy,' said Finance Commissioner Martha Stark.
Officials have been wary of changing the system after the municipal corruption scandal of 1986, when a company called Citisource won a contract to supply computers. The firm turned out to be a scam."
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