From her storefront on Tujunga Avenue in Studio City, shop owner Ann Booth frequently sees traffic officers nab parking scofflaws.Shoppers and diners often neglect the one-hour meters on this quaint stretch, according to Booth, making it a popular spot for the city's ticket writers.
"They're always writing tickets," Booth said. "It seems like they come every two minutes."
And more traffic officers may be on their way.
As part of his budget plan, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed creating a team of 150 part-time ticketing officers, foot soldiers to fan across the city and issue parking citations.
Villaraigosa's budget, set for consideration by the City Council today, would add 50 part-time traffic officers, on top of the 100 part-timers hired last year. City officials believe the additional officers could bring in another $4 million next year by targeting dense neighborhoods like North Hollywood, downtown and Hollywood.
Hiring more traffic officers would reverse years of declining city-issued citations, while raising more revenue for the city, Los Angeles Department of Transportation officials argue.
Since 2003, the number of citations has dropped from 3.2 million to 2.5 million last year, according to the department. At the same time, pricier tickets and better collection methods are helping raise funds for the city.
Under the latest proposal, expired meter tickets would rise by $5 to $63 per citation.
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Another hike in both the number of traffic officers and the price of tickets angers residents who believe the city is penalizing retail customers and relying too heavily on parking fines to raise revenues.
"It's ridiculous," Booth said. "People are two minutes late coming back to their car and there's a $60 ticket."
Villaraigosa's spokesman Peter Sanders defended the plan, writing in an email that LADOT revenue must grow so "vital city services can be preserved."
At the LADOT, there are simply fewer full-time traffic officers available to write tickets, said department spokesman Bruce Gillman. Due to budget cuts and retirements, the city's seen a 10 percent drop in staffing since 2008.
Hiring part-timers to patrol meters is an efficient way to bring in revenue and bring down city employee costs, he said.
City Councilman Paul Koretz agrees the city should be collecting more parking revenues. He frequently gets complaints that scofflaws are parking illegally in preferential parking neighborhoods in his district, or that there's not enough turnover along commercial stretches like Beverly Boulevard.
But he wants wants the part-time officers hired full time.
"We're cheating them out of pensions, and health benefits," Koretz said. "We're getting them on the cheap."
Traffic officers, who tell stories of being spit on and yelled at by car owners, say they understand resistance to more of their ranks.
On a recent morning in Studio City, Traffic Officer Lisa Figueroa strolled along Tujunga Avenue, spied an expired meter and quickly dashed out a $58 ticket, tucking it under the windshield of a silver Toyota.
The owner was nowhere to be seen, perhaps a good thing.
"I've seen men cry," Figueroa said. "I've seen them get down on their knees."
She issued four parking citations in half an hour.
"Businesses want the turnaround," she said. "They want the spots for customers. But the irate customers don't want the ticket."
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