HomeMy WebLinkAboutSupplemental Attachments - 8/7/2017 Amended Council Agenda Items
Council Meeting
Monday, August 7, 2017
Item #I.A.6.
Amend by changing street closure times and adding closure of alleys with access to 41h
Street, to read as follows:
Request of Cedar Valley Pridefest, Inc. for a variance to the Noise Ordinance and
permission to close the 300 and 400 block of W. 4th Street and the 500 and 600
block of lower Washington Street, on from 4:00 a.m. on August 26 through 5:00 a.m.
on August 27, 2017 and alleys with 4th Street access from 7:00 a.m. on August 26
through to 5:00 p.m. on August 29, 2017, in conjunction with Cedar Valley Pridefest
2017 event, including use of a PA system.
Item #17.
Amend by changing the location from Baltimore Street to Vermont Street, to read as
follows:
Resolution supporting the application by Black Hawk Contracting 8' Development Co.
for the Iowa Workforce Housing Tax Incentives Program to construct four new single
family homes in Waterloo, located on Vermont Street and Hummingbird Circle, and
authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute said documents.
4,800 traffic camera tickets with credit warning issued by'mistake'I T... http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/govemment/4800-traffic-cam...
4,800 traffic camera tickets with credit warning
issued by 'mistake'
Iowa Attorney General's Office 'has concerns' with language
e
NO4 tt
,imom
p
= r.
r
sr
aav �
011,
Traffic moves along First Avenue E past red light and speed enforcement traffic cameras in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday
August 25, 2015. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)
B.A. Morelli CEDAR RAPIDS—Tactics used to collect on Cedar
The Gazette Rapids traffic camera tickets are again coming into
question.
More stories from B.A. A change to the language on traffic camera tickets
appearing to threaten credit downgrades for non-
payment—which would run afoul of the law and
guidance from the Iowa Attorney General's Office—was done in error, a Cedar Rapids official
said.
"Once discovered, the mistake was corrected," Cedar Rapids spokeswoman Maria Johnson
2 of 5
8/7/17, 1:56 PM
4,800 traffic camera tickets with credit warning issued by'mistake' I T.. http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/govemment/4800-traffic-cam...
said Thursday.
She said 4,800 letters went out Sept. 29 with incorrect language due to a staff error, and no
other letters were or are to be sent out with the incorrect language.
It's not clear how the change happened or whether it was made by staff at the city or at traffic
camera vendor GATSO USA, which splits the proceeds with the city.
Greg Winchester, of Jacksonville, III., raised a question about the ticket he received Thursday
for a Sept. 29 violation. His ticket read: "Amounts that remain outstanding after the due date
listed above (Oct. 29, 2016)will be turned over to the City's collection agency which may lead
to an adjustment of your credit rating."
"Evidently, the threats to credit ratings have continued after they claimed they stopped,"
Winchester wrote in an email to The Gazette.
After -eoortino from The Gazette last year, the Iowa Attorney General's Office advised city
officials in September 2015 that non-payment for traffic camera tickets couldn't be used as a
black mark on credit scores. This was due to a Settlement earlier in the sear lbehveen 31 state
attornevs genera , including Iowa's Tom Miller, and the three major credit reporting agencies.
Credit threats would violate the law, which forbids"fraudulent, der9ptive, or misleading
representation or means to collect or attempt to collect a debt,"state officials said at the time.
Afterward, references to credit scores were removed from tickets. But The Gazette and the
Iowa Attorney General's Office received copies of payment notices sent to motorists suggesting
the threat had returned.
Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General's Office, said Thursday his office
"has concerns"with the language. The Consumer Protection Division contacted Cedar Rapids
officials to learn more, he said.
"In September of last year, our office conveyed this (settlement agreement)to staff at the City of
Cedar Rapids by telephone, and today our position remains unchanged," Greenwood said.
"While the agreement does not prohibit an entity from forwarding unpaid debt information to a
(credit reporting agency), a CRA is prohibited from reporting such debt on a credit report."
Before September 2015, dings on credit scores and legal action were the primary
consequences for not paying tickets. Cedar Rapids officials acknowledged legal action is not
practical given the small value of most tickets—$75.
Rashad Dixon, 19, who is from Marion and attends Iowa State University, said he received a
ticket in March sent to his Marion address, but didn't know about it until months later when he
heard from Harris & Harris LTD, a debt collector for the city.
He began researching the matter and discovered the credit rating threats aren't allowed, so he
called the company.
3 of 5
8/7/17, 1:56 PM
4,800 traffic camera tickets with credit warning issued by'mistake'I T... http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/govemment/4800-traffic-cam...
"The first three people I spoke with from Harris & Harris said it would go against my credit rating
if I don't pay in 45 days," he said. "Finally, it got elevated and the person said it is not going to
go against your credit, but I am not sure if it was just because he had to when I brought up The
Gazette article."
Harris& Harris officials could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Traffic camera programs have come under fire in Cedar Rapids perhaps as much as anywhere
in the nation. Locations on Interstate 380, said to be the only such permanent camera
installations on interstates in the country, result in amore than 100,000 tickets a vea , generating
more than $5 million annually.
There are pending class-action lawsuits from motorists, and the city is suing to block an order
from the Iowa Department of Transportation to move or take down some cameras.
Give us feedback
Have you found an error or omission in our reporting?Tell us here.
Do you have a story idea we should look into?Tell us ;=ere.
SPONSORED CONTENT ON THE GAZETTE
A Shocking 21-Month 0% APR Credit Card
A major card issuer is offering an industry-best 21-month 0%APR on
balance transfers and new purchases. Pay no interest until 2019.
Sponsored Content
4of5
8/7/17, 1:56 PM