Pay outstanding fines in June to erase extra penalties, head off being towed

COVINGTON, Ky. – If you own one or more of the 21,811 unpaid parking tickets issued in the City of Covington during the last six years, the City has an offer for you:

Pay the original fine, and you can both ignore any penalties accumulated on the ticket AND eliminate the risk that your car will be “booted” and towed because of the unpaid tickets.

But the offer is valid only during the month of June.

The Covington Board of Commissioners approved a month-long parking amnesty program Tuesday night.

“Everybody wins here,” said Kyle Snyder, who as the City’s infrastructure development specialist is executive director of the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority. “Drivers both save money and save their car from possibly being towed, and the City both clears tickets off our books and gains revenue we weren’t previously collecting.”

To pay a ticket online, see PAY TICKET, or go to the ABM office at 501 Scott Blvd., across from the Kenton County Public Library.

Note that any outstanding fees related to towing, handling, and storage (had your car been towed) will still have to be paid.

Tickets are generally $30 but double to $60 if not paid after 14 days. It’s that additional $30 that will be forgiven under the amnesty program.

The City has also authorized its private contractor, ABM Parking, to again begin “booting” and towing cars whose drivers have three or more unpaid tickets. The City had placed a general moratorium on towing for most violations at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, when many people were made to work from home, but that moratorium is coming to an end at the end of June.

“I am happy that we are able to offer this opportunity to people to reduce the cost and stress about parking, as we work to make parking better,” Snyder said.

Snyder said other local jurisdictions who set up amnesty programs were able to clear 30 percent to 50 percent of unpaid tickets. He said that every driver who has an unpaid ticket will receive a letter about the amnesty program.

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See COVINGTON PARKING for more information about public parking in the city and the PassportParking® app for meters.

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