Gaithersburg Ups Parking Fines Above Neighbors, County Minimum

Parking scofflaws should avoid Gaithersburg, if they know what's good for them.

Police have raised the minimum parking violation fine by $10, putting it $20 above neighboring Rockville and $15 above the county minimum.

"Effective July 1, 2011, the fine increased from $50.00 to $60.00 in the City of Gaithersburg consistent with the fine schedule in Montgomery County," City Police Chief Mark P. Sroka said in an email.

But Officer Amy Daum, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County Police, said the minimum county fine is lower.

"The cheapest (county) ticket is $45," she said. That would be for smaller violations, like an expired parking meter.

The most expensive county parking fine is $250, like Gaithersburg, and would be issued for similar infractions, Daum said.

However Gaithersburg doesn't have any parking meters, Sroka said. So the increase means a non-meter violation gets the same fine from county and city police.

"I'm told this puts us in line with the county fine schedule," Sroka said.

"If a Montgomery County police officer issues a parking ticket for most non-meter parking violations the fine is $60.00," he said. "The change ensures that all citizens that receive a parking ticket for a similar violation receive the same fine within the City. In addition, the increased fine may serve as a deterrent to repeat violators."

A non-meter violation could be anything from parking an unregistered vehicle on the street to parking within 35 feet of an intersection, Sroka said.

Get caught in a fire lane or handicap spot and the police could slap you with a $250 citation.

"For the period of April 2011 through June 2011, the Gaithersburg Police Department issued an average of 209 parking tickets a month," Sroka said.

Gaithersburg's fines now outpace neighboring Rockville's by 50 percent.

"Our fine is $40 and we have no intention of changing it," Rockville Police Chief Terry N. Treschuk said.

Harold Belton, Gaithersburg's head of finance, said the increase is part of the 2012 budget, which went into effect July 1, and which the City Council approved unanimously.

This article was clarified to state that Gaithersburg has no parking meters.