Clinton County cracks down on traffic tickets

A five-dollar parking ticket in the eastern Iowa town of Clinton can rapidly grow into a hefty fine and a trip before a judge. Clinton Finance Director Debbie Neels says too many people were ignoring their parking tickets, so the city has taken action.City citations are being served by police officers to parking ticket procrastinators. The fines must be paid along with court costs or motorists have to appear in court. Neels says the fines and fees have added up to 120-dollars each on some people.Motorists have 48 hours to pay their five-dollar parking tickets. If that time passes, the price rises to 25-dollars. If that is ignored, then the citations are issued by uniformed officers. Neels says many people face the long arm of the law for leaving their cars parked too long.She says the actions appear to be working. Many people are walking into Clinton City Hall to pay their tickets right away.