We're going to educate the water cops. He suggested they take along Polaroid cameras. Alvarez said an additional judge will be added, when needed, to remedy the problem. If needed, Alvarez said, two special court sessions will be held per month, though the next has not yet been scheduled. India Williams, consumer affairs manager of the Tampa Water Department, said the number of cases that reach the court docket represent only a portion of the total citations issued.
Many people simply pay the fine before it gets to court.
The courts dismissed some of the cases, Williams said, because the city, equipped with inaccurate addresses, had been unable to notify accused violators of the citations against them. The city, she added, will try to figure out why the courts tossed the others and how to keep it from happening. We will do anything we need to do to make sure these cases stand up in court. Among those cited are The Times Building at 1000 N Ashley Drive, the building in which the St. Petersburg Times leases space for its Tampa operations. The building has been cited four times since May 2000.