Further, Ms. Payne asserted that if Mesa was polled today, photo radar would be voted down two to one and that anything to the contrary is simply clever and strategic polling. Photo radar is not upheld in the courts and Mesa is currently sending a photo radar citation up to three times before they will turn it over to a process server. Mr. Zell's duty is to administer the photo radar program, review all citations, and act as a liaison with the court, vendors, and media. Mr. Melikian argued that aggressive parking enforcement tarnishes the reputation of Phoenix and could jeopardize tourism-derived income, which contributes to the tax rolls to a greater degree than parking enforcement revenues. The City of Phoenix does not have a means of separating out downtown parking citations to assess actual revenue.
Phoenix does refer uncollected fines to an outside collection agency.
Mr. Edwards did not know what percentage of uncollected fines are referred to collection agencies. Mr. Edwards stated that there are no incentives of any kind to increase parking enforcement. Vice Chairman Cooley expressed disappointment that a city such as Phoenix does not have the technology to separate its fines. Mr. Leighton informed the Committee that Tucson's parking program has five full-time staff, one of whom is assigned to the 1200 meters in downtown Tucson and the surrounding areas. Tucson does not refer unpaid fines to an outside collection agency.