Greenwich Looks To Streamline Parking Ticket Appeals Process

GREENWICH, CT — The Board of Selectmen is considering making a permanent change to how parking appeal hearings are conducted, and it all stems from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, appeal hearings were conducted in-person at Town Hall. But after lockdowns and social distancing became the norm, the hearings were held telephonically only. The Parking Services Department found the process to be more efficient and streamlined, so Lu Ann Belantoni, Business Services Manager for the department, went before the Board of Selectmen last week to advocate for the changing of the town ordinance on appeals.

"COVID or no COVID, I think this is the best way to go because people don't have to make their way to Town Hall. They just set aside a two hour window and it really has worked like a charm," Bellantoni told the board. "It's enabled us to get current, where in the past we were six to nine months behind. Right now, you probably have to wait no more than two weeks to obtain a hearing. It's worked perfectly as far as I can say."

Residents who get a parking ticket and want to appeal have 15 days from the issuance of the citation, and that timeframe would remain the same under the proposed ordinance change.

The appeal goes into the Parking Services Department's queue, where it's vetted. If any errors are made, the ticket is voided; if not, it moves along the appeal process and residents are contacted via email up to three times about a date and time for a hearing.

Appellants are given caller ID information from the department, and a designated day and two hour timeframe when they can expect a phone call to begin the hearing.

Parking Services has six independent hearing officers. At the end of a call, an officer will not divulge their decision to the appellant. Instead, he or she marks it down, and then Bellantoni's staff will email the decision later on.

"That cuts down on the disagreements that the hearing officers in the past had had to deal with," Bellantoni said, noting that there is usually one hearing scheduled per week.

The Board of Selectmen offered support for the change, but did not take a vote. Instead, they will review the language of the proposed change and possibly vote during their next scheduled meeting on June 10.

Selectperson Jill Oberlander asked what Parking Services does if a resident does not have an email address. Bellantoni said a paper application will be accepted, and that residents must provide a phone number and can give an email address from a family member or someone else.

Throughout the past year, First Selectman Fred Camillo has said that there will be some silver linings once the country gets to the other side of the pandemic, and that the Town of Greenwich will look to streamline government and services where it can.

The parking appeal process is certainly an example of that.

"With 63,000 residents, a lot of these departments can get inundated at times with requests and appointments. This certainly does help, but there's nothing like in-person meetings. I'm a firm believer in that, but having this option will certainly save some meetings from having to be rescheduled, and it will certainly offer a convenience for people who have tight schedules and who might otherwise miss a hearing when they have to be there in person," Camillo told Patch after the Board's meeting.

"This is another example of looking at how we do business here and re-imagining Greenwich post-pandemic. We're starting to take those steps now."