SHARON Council considers raising parking fines

Police also want permission to use a new digital measuring system to go after speeders.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Scofflaws who aren't bothered by $2 parking fines may soon find the practice a lot more expensive.
Police Chief Thomas Burke has asked city council to revise municipal parking fines, raising the rate for violations in limited-time and no-parking areas from $2 to $20.
Parking in a fire lane would cost $50 instead of $5, under the chief's proposal.
"$2 and $5 [tickets] are not getting anyone's attention," Burke told council Thursday.
Councilman Lou Rotunno asked what the fine should be at the few remaining parking meters in the city, located at the Shenango Valley Community Library, on Sharpsville Avenue and in a small municipal lot at Pitt and Railroad streets.
City officials said many of those meters no longer work, and Mayor David O. Ryan said they could be eliminated in favor of limited-time parking.
Support for plan
Council indicated support for Burke's plan and said it will take two readings of an ordinance amendment to make it law.
Burke also wants to add a new tool to the police arsenal for dealing with speeders.
He asked council to also amend the city's traffic regulation ordinance to allow police to use a new digital speed-timing device.
Local police departments in Pennsylvania are not allowed to use radar to catch speeders.
The system, which is similar to using a stopwatch to measure a vehicle's time over a specified distance to determine its speed, is admissible in court in all 50 states, Burke said.
It's needed in residential and school zones where speeding has been a problem, he told council.
Cost
The units cost $60 each and must be recalibrated for accuracy at a cost of about $5 every 60 days, he said.
Burke also told council that the police department is being plagued with an excessive number of false alarms from businesses and residences.
Those are alarms that are connected to a central alarm company, which notifies police when the alarm is activated, he said.
Sharon has had 675 false alarms since the first of the year, Burke said, noting one business alone has had 37.
He asked council to consider enacting a new ordinance calling for a financial penalty for repeat false alarms.
Council directed him to meet with Fire Chief Arthur Scarmack to come up with a law that would deal with both police and fire false alarms.