New law expands municipal fine authority

On Feb. 10, Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation that expands local authority to collect unpaid fines, specifically those issued for violations of local statutes regulating sanitation, housing, and snow and ice removal.

The new local-option procedure (codified as M.G.L. Ch. 40U) is much like the one in place for hearings on parking citations. It will allow for appeals of citations outside the judicial system, allows penalties for late payments, and, through the automation of the ticketing system, allows the city or town to impose sanctions for failure to pay fines by restricting access to other municipal services.

As a final recourse, Chapter 40U allows municipalities to place a lien on a property “based upon the number of and/or the dollar amount of the violations on the property.”

Cities and towns have had no recourse for collecting these types of unpaid fines except to file suit in Housing Court for each unpaid ticket. In the city of Boston, less than one-third of citations are paid, and the number of tickets issued each year continues to rise. Between 2006 and 2009, more than 87,000 citations were issued in Boston, with more than 48,000 unpaid or outstanding, representing more that $4.9 million.

Prior to the enactment of this legislation (Chapter 26 of the Acts of 2010), cities and towns had to seek special legislative approval in order to implement a more aggressive collection procedure. The city of Lowell was granted such authority in 2002.