NC city earns $70,000 from ticket amnesty program

GREENSBORO -- A North Carolina city says it earned $70,000 in a program that forgave late fees for residents who paid their old parking tickets. The News & Record of Greensboro reported Thursday that the city of Greensboro received payment for 8,120 tickets in December. The city forgave $203,000 in penalties for late payment. Greensboro's City Council approved the amnesty program in hopes of collecting some of the unpaid tickets. The city was owed $2.2 million in tickets, including $1.4 million in fines for late payment. City collection manager Patti Koontz said Greensboro typically earns $38,000 a month from parking ticket payments. Greensboro police now will tow cars with three or more overdue parking tickets. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)