Comptroller teams with police to crack down on handicapped parking violations

Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw is teaming up with law enforcement agencies, including police in Orchard Park, to crack down on able-bodied people who break the law by parking in spaces designated for individuals living with disabilities.

A report from Mychajliw shows surcharges for parking illegally in handicapped spots are up 36 percent for the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017.

As a result, Mychajliw was joined by Town Supervisor Patrick Keem, Orchard Park Police Chief Mark Pacholec, and Scott Joslyn, police services division chief of the Erie County Sheriff's Office, during a June 13 news conference at the Orchard Park Municipal Center to raise awareness about illegal use of such spots.

They condemned those who illegally park in designated handicapped parking spots and spoke about the hardships faced by those who are forced to park farther away when those spots are illegally taken.

"There's a special place in hell for healthy people that are too lazy, stupid, heartless, or a combination of them all, that illegally park in handicapped spots," Mychajliw said. "No able-bodied person should park in handicapped parking spots. Period. This is a selfish, disgraceful act. The message is simple: If you do not have authority to park in a handicapped parking spot, do not park there."

Following the release of the report from Mychajliw, Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard announced plans for his office to increase patrols of handicapped parking spaces, to make sure only people with valid tags are parked there.

By state law, towns and villages must tack on an additional $30 surcharge on all traffic tickets for people who illegally park in handicapped spots. One half of that surcharge, $15, must be given to Erie County to fund handicapped parking education programs. The other half of that surcharge is given back to the respective town or village where the ticket is given.

The towns and villages are to use that money to fund criminal justice programs, including a disability awareness program for law enforcement agencies.

"As someone who was confined to a wheelchair for six months as the result of an accident, I personally understand how important handicapped parking spots are to those in need. Please respect the law and leave the handicapped spots for the disabled," Keem said.

Pacholec added that this is a problem that affects all communities.

"The sad truth is that handicapped parking violations consistently occur not only in the Town of Orchard Park but everywhere," Pacholec said. "This concerning violation is an issue, and the violators impact so many. My department is focused on identifying offenders; however, we have several shopping areas, public buildings, medical facilities where these offenses can occur, and it is not possible to be everywhere all the time.

"I strongly urge the public to think before they park, but we are looking for violators and we will ensure you are ticketed for your egregious offense," the chief said.

The report from the Office of Erie County Comptroller shows the county of Erie is very close to what is actually being received from handicapped parking fines so far in 2018 compared to what was budgeted. According to the 2018 Erie County budget, approximately $27,500 was budgeted as revenue from handicapped surcharge revenues.

For the first quarter of this year, Erie County received approximately $6,567 in revenue from those fees. Multiplied by four quarters of the year, the projected revenue for 2018 is $26,268. This number could increase or decrease depending on how many tickets are written for the remainder of the year.

"This important funding goes into an account that is used by the Office for People with Disabilities for a handicapped parking education program. The purpose of the program is to provide education, advocacy and increase awareness of handicapped parking laws," Mychajliw said.

The "Report on Revenue from Town and Village Courts for Erie County Programs" outlined not only Erie County's portion of revenue from handicapped parking, but also looked at driving while intoxicated fines and bail fees. It then compared actual numbers to budget projections.

The report also showed that 35 percent of DWI fines are used for a campaign to inform the public about the risks of DWI, supervise chronic offenders through probation, investigate DWI crashes, encourage strict prosecution of DWI cases and supply DWI Victim Services. On average, Erie County budgets $1.3 million for this program.

The bail fees collected by Erie County are used for alternatives to incarceration programs. In the first quarter of 2018, Erie County collected $2,013. This total is down 18.3 percent from the first quarter of last year.

The Audit Division recommends careful monitoring of the budgets for these programs, as revenue has dropped for DWI fines and bail fees. Although not a negative within itself, as it suggests that fewer DWIs may be occurring, adjustments to the budget may be necessary in order to ensure that the programs remain within the constraints of the 2018 budget.